Throughout the decade-long lifespan of GTA Online, there has been a constant stream of weekly events that grant the players a multitude of bonuses. Whether it’s more money in GTA Online, the release of a new vehicle, or perhaps even a different type of weather to celebrate the new season. GTA Online provides players with limitless fun, and the DLC events are just part of that space.
Considering the game has been around for almost ten years, GTA Online has seen a great deal of DLC events throughout the game’s history, such as the best apartments in GTA Online with many more still to come. It’s a good time to look back at the best DLC events in GTA Online, and what players might reminisce or have missed out on.
8 Happy Halloween
Starting in October, GTA Online begins a grizzly month of frights and terrors with the Halloween event that lurks throughout the month. Players can access Halloween-exclusive cosmetics, such as makeup that can turn their GTA Online character into The Joker, or, masks that will make them look ready for trick or treating. The Halloween event may see people hiding in the best facility locations in GTA Online to avoid the chaos.
Along with these bonuses, there are also additional discounts on certain vehicles. Yet, the main focus of the Halloween event is the fact that the sun never rises, and players are trapped within the darkness of an infinite night. It’s great for the scary theme but can get annoying when it’s rather dark in the streets of Los Santos.
7 Festive Surprises
In a seasonal event that is dedicated to the holiday season, the Festive Surprise event comes around the 22nd to the 28th of December every year. The immediate recognition of the Festive Surprises event is that Los Santos is covered in snow. Players can create snowballs from the ground, damaging and killing other players.
Other than the map-wide snow makeover, players can find clothing that is only available within this event, like dressing up as an alcoholic Santa, or a murderous gingerbread person. Bringing the community together for the holiday season is a lot of fun.
6 The Stone Hatchet
In a promotional event for Red Dead Redemption 2, players could earn the Stone Hatchet for GTA Online. The Stone Hatchet remains a hidden unlockable, added as part of the After Hours update. The event itself saw players needing to complete five Bounty Target missions from Maude Eccles, only then would they receive the Stone Hatchet.
What made this event memorable was it was a great way to introduce a new weapon into GTA Online. Players had to earn it through an event. It was a weapon worth the hunt, as the Stone Hatchet can be used on an enemy to grant the player ‘Rampage’ which greatly boosts their defense, meaning they can repeatedly one-shot people with the Stone Hatchet and remain unphased by bullets.
5 Cayo Perico Series Week
From the 11th of August 2022 to the 17th of August 2022, the Cayo Perico Series Week was revealed to players of GTA Online. This event debuted the Declasse Draugur, a new off-road vehicle for players to enjoy on the many dirt roads of GTA Online. The event also released the Cayo Perico Series, which featured ten new races, the perfect oppurtunity to try out the best muscle cars in GTA Online.
In these races, players would be able to return to the Cayo Perico island for a new bout of racing fun and to compete for the top spot. In completing all ten races, players would be able to purchase the Declasse Draugur from Southern San Andreas Super Autos for a reduced price of $1,402,500.
4 The Heist Challenge
Sometimes Rockstar Games likes to challenge their active community, which is exactly what happened on November 12th, 2020. The developers of GTA Online brought in the Heist Challenge, which was an event that saw the community involved in a challenge to steal $100 Billion from the Heist Finales in just one week. With all that money, players are bound to be able to purchase one of the best bunkers in GTA Online for more content.
The community rallied together to obtain a new vehicle for free in the next GTA Online update. Players would also receive GTA$1,000,000 just for logging in during this week. It was a celebration of heisting, with Diamonds returning to the Casino Heist, and Setup costs reduced by 75%, players should have taken advantage of this event by knowing what to do before every mission.
3 San Andreas Prix Week
Racing has always been a key component of GTA Online’s DNA. The game works with cars wonderfully, and the many tracks that players and developers have created make an endless supply of fun in GTA Online. However, one week, in particular, saw a grand prix burst onto the scene thanks to the San Andreas Prix Week.
In this week from August 27th to September 2nd of 2020, players would receive triple XP gains from Open Wheel Races, and triple GTA$ as well. For a week, it was a great source of income, RP, and just a lot of fun to race in tight tracks, as the Open Wheel Races put more precision and thought into the style rather than crashing into everything and everyone.
2 Stunt Race Week
Stunt Races were a new addition to GTA Online that brought a new adrenaline-fueled way to race. GTA Online embraced the chaotic nature of races, allowing for wacky races that featured mountain drops, loops, and even faster cars than ever before. With Stunt Race Week, players could earn more money in GTA Online, and XP.
Starting on March 6th, 2018, and ending on March 12th of the same year, Stunt Race Week celebrated the fastest cars in the game, as players could earn rewards for competing and participating in the Stunt Races created by Rockstar Games and their verified tracks. Players could also find some of the best cars in GTA Online for a reduced price, like the RE-7B, which was 35% off.
1 The Heist Event
For the entire month of November in 2022, GTA Online players would receive more GTA$ and RP from each heist, Most notably, the Diamond Casino Heist could have the potential of Diamonds in the Vault Contents, with a bonus of 1.5x rewards, players could rake in the cash at an absurd rate, making an entire week dedicated to the cash grind.
The Heist Event allowed players to celebrate their efficiency in heists and brought the community together to get rich quickly to waste money in GTA Online on things they do not need. The bonus to money and XP meant that players were clearing out banks and casinos quicker than they could refill, along with more money rewards for Setup and Prep missions.
Grand Theft Auto Online is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.