After almost two weeks of sever connection and lost progress problems, it appears that the worst of Grand Theft Auto Online's issues are behind us. Gamers who were unable to login to Grand Theft Auto 5's multiplayer experience at launch, are now able to roam the streets of Los Santos with complete and utter freedom.

However, although Grand Theft Auto Online is now working properly, the sting of lost characters, progress, and items has not disappeared completely. Gamers were still hopeful that they might hop onto GTA Online and find that their character had been returned to them. Unfortunately, as Rockstar Games has just revealed, that doesn't look likely.

In an official statement on Rockstar's site, the Grand Theft Auto 5 developer confirms gamers' worst fears: the developer will not be able to restore any lost characters or progress. There were several reasons that players lost their progress or lost their character — many of them stemming back to failed connections with the cloud server — and while those issues have been corrected with two updates, the damage cannot be undone.

For those asking about their lost characters or rank, those will not be able to be restored so we sincerely hope that this cash stimulus we’re giving out this month will help you get back on your feet or to make your new life in Los Santos & Blaine extra sweet.

Rockstar is hopeful, though, that the $500,000 "stimulus package" they issued as compensation last week will make the sting of losing a character easier to swallow. For those gamers that were never even able to login to Grand Theft Auto Online, the stimulus package is free money — a chance to upgrade their multiplayer experience right out of the gate. But for those who did lose characters, the stimulus package might only serve as a reminder of Grand Theft Auto Online's troubles, and the hours that were lost to the ether.

When Rockstar first announced they were working on updates for Grand Theft Auto Online, the developer was hopeful (as were gamers) that they would be able to restore any and all lost multiplayer progress. Now that we know that is not the case, it further colors the overall impression of GTA online.

Sure, the multiplayer experience was seen by some as an added bonus to Grand Theft Auto 5's Story Mode, but there's no denying that when a multiplayer game, of any kind, is "broken" at launch it's disappointing. And when it's one of the most highly anticipated games of the year that means even more gamers are affected. Hopefully, as Rockstar says, the worst is behind us.

Are you disappointed to learn Rockstar will not be able to restore gamers' missing characters? Do you think the stimulus package is a fair trade-off/apology?

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Source: Rockstar