Everything we know about GTA Online’s Winter Update

Here’s everything we know so far about GTA Online’s Winter Update DLC including when it is expected to arrive, some of its included content and more.

Rockstar Games typically launch a new GTA Online update in December each year so an update next month is not out of the ordinary.

Content included

Rockstar are adding a brand new business to GTA Online, an illicit Salvage Yard. You’ll be getting involved in “action-packed robberies” for Yusuf Amir from GTA IV The Ballad of Gay Tony.

A new type of race is coming to GTA Online: Drift Races. A new modification for certain cars will be required to enter the Drift Races Series. You can get this new mod from the LS Car Meet.

A 100 vehicle garage is coming titled The Vinewood Club Garage. Exclusive to GTA+ members, you can store up 100 vehicles, double the previous maximum of 50 at Eclipse Boulevard.

Wildlife finally comes to Freemode. Across the map you will find animals roaming south San Andreas, something fans have been requesting for years. The Interaction Menu will gain a new feature that will make managing your garages easier. You’ll be able to quickly move vehicles from one place to another from within the menu. Both of these things will be exclusive to the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions.

Here are the features coming to current gen AND last gen (Xbox One and PS4) and PC.

• A newly streamlined Interaction menu for easier navigation
• Increased LS Car Meet Reputation points for competing in Pursuit and Street Races
• A “small birthday gift” on your character’s birthday.
• Console voice chat now defaults to “Off”
• Custom description tags for each floor of the Eclipse Blvd. Garage
• New Specification Service at the LS Car Meet, allowing drivers to now purchase copies of another player’s Personal Vehicle on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

The reward for the Simeon’s Employee of the Month Challenge was this special Rockstar Games livery as seen below for the brand new Grotti Turismo Omaggio. The livery is free for all players but the new car is not. It’s cost and other info is currently under wraps.

Speaking of liveries, another special Rockstar Games livery in this update was unlocked by the community. The reward for The Doomsday Scenario Community Challenge is this Rockstar Games branded Zentorno livery.

The third community challenge titled The Sprunk & eCola Challenge also had a livery reward. It is the Sprunk x eCola branded livery for the Mammoth F-160 Raiju which is also part of the Winter Update.

Rockstar say more is coming to GTA Online this “holiday and beyond”. Some of the content will be new updates to the creator tools, holiday themed modes, improvements to GTA Online, other festive surprises and much more. You’ll also be able to get some limited-timed Rockstar Games 25th Anniversary in-game apparel which we showed here.

Release Date

GTA Online’s next DLC is expected to arrive on Tuesday December 12th. Whilst the release date has not been confirmed by Rockstar Games themselves, a lot of evidence from their past leaves a pattern. Here’s why December 12th is expected:

The latest GTA+ month end date changed. These GTA+ months last 4 weeks as you’d expect. However, Rockstar Games sometimes adjusts their length to coincide with a new GTA Online DLC. This happened as recent as this summer. Rockstar extended June-July GTA+ month from July 18th until July 26th. This was so it would change when the San Andreas Mercenaries update released.

Also Event Weeks usually start on Thursday morning and end the following Thursday morning. This week’s Event Week lasts until Monday 11th December, 11 days after it begins and on a different day. Rockstar typically does this ahead of new DLCs.

Reputable GTA Online insider, Tez2, Tweeted that December 12th is the expected GTA Online DLC release date. He also said “End of next week is likely reserved for GTAO DLC. So we can expect VI trailer either on Friday, during the weekend or on Tuesday at most.”

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