Twelve years on since launch, Rockstar Games have given everyone a free trial GTA Online. This change comes after some recent criticism and of course the GTA 6 delay. There was some confusion around GTA Online being playable without a subscription service and that raised eyebrows but Rockstar have now put all speculation to rest.
What’s Happening
The situation began to unfold as GTA community member @PLTytus spotted Rockstar disabled the requirement for an active PlayStation Plus or Xbox Game Pass subscription to play GTA Online. After that, players decided to try it. They launched into GTA Online without either an active Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Plus subscription.
Following this, GTA fan Dogmanx contacted Rockstar Games Support. They confirmed it is more of a full game trial rather than the permanent or temporary removal of PS+ or Game Pass for GTA Online. Their message says:
At the moment, if you play on console, you will have access to GTA Online as a free trial starting today, November 11th, and ending on November 18th. You will also have free access to the game on Story mode.
Around two hours later, Rockstar confirmed this was happening in a Tweet. The official account said “Play GTA Online for free on PS5 or Xbox Series X|S, now thru Nov 17. No PS Plus or Game Pass Essential required.” As you can see, the game will be made free to everyone to enjoy on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S for 1 week starting today. If you only own GTA V Story Mode, you can also easily play GTA Online for free during this period.
Timing
This move is timely given Rockstar added GTA Online into GTA+ last week. This means if you subscribe to the monthly subscription service you have access to GTA Online on PS5 or Xbox Series X|S without owning the game.
However, GTA fans were quick to point out you still needed to pay for PS+ or Xbox Game Pass in addition to GTA+ to actually play the game. This was a frustrating issue. Now that the game is free for av week, all you need it GTA+ to enjoy GTA Online without owning the game.
It is also worth noting that we are just a few short weeks away from the next GTA Online update (which feature mansions) so they likely timed it to get people interested in the game before a wave of new content.
Furthermore, GTA Online has seen a slight decrease in revenue over the past year. This is not surprising given the game is well over a decade old and most are ready for the next iteration which will be attached to GTA VI. Even though GTA+ has grown, GTA V sales have slowed down a little. Offering free trials such as this one could make people want to purchase the game.
In other news, the game is likely coming to PlayStation Plus’ catalog of games next week. Learn more here. To keep up to date with every GTA Online news update, make sure to check back to RockstarINTEL and sign up to our newsletter for a weekly round-up of all things Rockstar Games.
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