Players of Grand Theft Auto Online have discovered that the most recent update to the game prevents them from being able to remotely collect passive income from businesses that are owned to the GTA+ subscription service.
Starting on June 25, players of Grand Theft Auto Online were able to access the Bottom Dollar Bounties downloadable content, which included a brand-new bounty hunting business, in addition to new missions, vehicles, and other content upgrades.
From the time that Grand Theft Auto 5 was released in 2013, the developer Rockstar Games has consistently flooded the multiplayer component of the game with substantial content updates. Many of these updates include the addition of businesses that can be purchased in GTA Online.
These businesses include nightclubs, arcades, aircraft hangars, vehicle warehouses, and many others. Some businesses are able to passively accumulate money from their legitimate day-to-day operations, while others are able to employ these as a front for engaging in illegal activities.
Typically, in order for players to collect this income, they are required to go to each business individually.
This can be a lengthy process, especially considering the relatively insignificant amount of money that they make.
On the other hand, the Bottom Dollar Bounties update that was just recently released for Grand Theft Auto Online revealed that Rockstar has made it easier for players to collect this passive income, albeit for a price.
As it turns out, subscribers to the Grand Theft Auto+ subscription service will have an additional option in the in-game Vinewood Club app to claim their new earnings at any time, eliminating the need for them to separately visit the scattered businesses.
Unfortunately, players of Grand Theft Auto Online who do not subscribe to GTA+ will not be able to take advantage of the quality-of-life upgrade that has been requested by a large number of players.
GTA Online Players Can’t Claim Business Earnings Remotely Without GTA+
While Rockstar has assured players that it will not make gameplay features exclusive for subscribers when it first launched in 2022, the fact that the ability to remotely claim income is locked behind GTA+ appears to be in direct contradiction to the company’s previous messaging.
After the recent increase in the cost of GTA+, sentiment towards the service has already been somewhat negative.
As a result of the fact that non-subscribers are not allowed to access an entire quality-of-life feature, some players of Grand Theft Auto Online are concerned that Rockstar will continue to implement this policy in future updates in order to increase the value proposition of GTA+.
Beyond Grand Theft Auto 5, it has the potential to establish a precedent that is cause for worry for Rockstar’s upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6, which is scheduled to be released in the autumn of 2025.
Rockstar has not yet disclosed the online component of Grand Theft Auto 6, nor has it disclosed whether or not it will be comparable to Grand Theft Auto Online.
The current trajectory of the latter, on the other hand, makes it not overly implausible to assume that GTA+ will be carried over to the online mode of Grand Theft Auto 6, possibly playing an even more active role.
It remains to be seen how players will react to that, but if the current perception of the subscription is any indication, Grand Theft Auto Online Plus will have its work cut out for it in the future.
