Rockstar Games has been updating its online titles as much of the world shelters at home and avoids large gatherings due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Red Dead Online recently offered bonus XP for Traders and Moonshiners for example, and a new event was unveiled in Grand Theft Auto: Online that some might argue hits a little too close to home given the circumstances.

On April 23, GTA Online was updated with six new contact missions under the umbrella "Gerald's Last Play." Gerald is a drug dealer who works for The Families in Los Santos, Grand Theft Auto's equivalent of Los Angeles, who is referenced in GTA 5 but only appears in GTA Online. The missions focus on helping him "score big while ensuring his drug-dealing and other criminal endeavors go smoothly" as an impending downturn in black markets causes a rise in gang activity, according to Rockstar.

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On top of the six new missions; Make Ends Meat, Go Figure, Fast Peddling, Deal With It, Bad Companies, and End Product, GTA Online fans can get double the Reputation Points (RP) and GTA$ by completing tasks while playing through April 29. These new additions come after Rockstar brought back the Alien Survival Series and Peyote Plants in order to give players extra content amid worldwide shutdowns of businesses, schools, and more.

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Though it's likely the developers have been working on Gerald's Last Play for some time given how much content it includes, the timing of this addition of a recession-focused storyline might not sit well with those affected by those aforementioned shutdowns and the delay of entertainment productions like Paramount's Mission Impossible 7 and 8. Fears of a real-world recession have arisen after oil prices in the U.S. went negative last week according to news sites like CNBC.

However, others will undoubtedly argue that the uncertainty of current global affairs makes this a perfect time for video game developers to release content like Gerald's Last Play as a distraction. GTA Online has also pushed for added security by offering free money to players who activate two-step verification.

At the same time as Rockstar has been updating events in GTA Online and Red Dead Online, rumors continue to circulate about the developer's next venture. Based on various rumors it is believed that Grand Theft Auto 6 may be in the works, though it's uncertain when fans can expect to hear more about it.

Grand Theft Auto: Online is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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Source: Rockstar Games Newswire, CNBC