Grand Theft Auto Online delivers frequent updates to its player base month after month. That's why players knew it was just a matter of time before Rockstar started off its plans for Halloween in Grand Theft Auto Online for the year. Patience has paid off, it seems, as Friday morning Rockstar kicked off this year's unique Halloween event. It took no time at all for Grand Theft Auto Online players to map out just what changed. This year's Halloween event appears to revolve around visits from UFOs.
The new Grand Theft Auto Online event has been dubbed "Sightseeing" and focuses on daily encounters with unidentified flying objects. The way it works is that each day between Friday, October 15 and Thursday, October 21 will feature a special UFO encounter. Each day, a UFO will visit a different area of Grand Theft Auto Online's map, but only during specific hours of in-game night. These UFO encounters are brief and only slightly interactive, hinting at bigger Halloween event shenanigans to come.
UFOs will appear in-game between the hours of 10:00 PM and 3:00 AM on the in-game clock. Basically, they appear at night. Each real-world day will feature a different location. For example, Friday's UFO encounter was to the south of Paleto Bay along the beach. Saturday's encounter is at the extreme north of the state of San Andreas. The encounter involves a UFO floating above the ground as if it's sightseeing.
Players will be able to see the UFO but won't be able to directly interact with it. If players approach the UFO, there will be brief thunder and lighting followed by the UFO instantly disappearing. If players approach the UFO in a vehicle, including either a helicopter or plane, there will be a funny additional effect. The player's vehicle will briefly lose power, plummeting to the ground if they're in the sky, only for power to return once the UFO disappears.
There are no specific clues as to what the Sightseeing UFO event in Grand Theft Auto Online is pointing towards. All of the locations for the UFO's appearance over the next week seem to be situation around the northern half of the island, is perhaps the UFO is looking for something. What that something is will likely only be discovered starting next Friday, October 22, in the direct lead-in to Halloween.
Expect more information about Halloween in Grand Theft Auto Online in the weeks to come. Halloween 2020, and in years prior, was packed with special Halloween discounts, bonus rewards, as well as special Halloween game modes and cosmetics.
Grand Theft Auto Online is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X/S support planned for March 2022.