GTA Online Spring Update Header

Has it really been six whole months since the release of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto Online? Initially piggybacking in on the runaway success of GTA 5, this free-to-play multiplayer mode has surmounted untold issues, glitches and infuriating griefers to arrive at its currently stable state.

Now it falls to the game's dedicated set of devs to flesh out the online experience with new and exciting features. First came the 'Content Creator,' a limited scenario editor that allows players to tweak races, deathmatches and more — followed shortly thereafter by 'Capture' mode, a multi-tiered take on the ever-popular CTF premise.

For its next big trick the team at Rockstar now plans to combine these two ideas, introducing a 'Capture Creator' mode alongside a slew of similar improvements. These Spring Updates - announced earlier today - will arrive throughout the evergreen season, with highlights also set to include team heists, new high-roller purchases and multiple garages.

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For the full list of improvements, tweaks and additions, check out the press release below:

Capture Creator: Coming next week, the Creator community will be able to make their own original customized Capture Jobs and add to the over 3.5 million (and counting) player-created Deathmatches and Races currently available on Social Club. Players can strategically place pick-ups, define weaponry, set location, and tweak tons of other variables to make their own unique Capture Job for others to take on. We will also be reviewing homemade Capture creations to stamp standout experiences as Rockstar Verified.

The High Life Update: The High Life Update will allow players to expand their foothold in Los Santos with new high-end apartment options, the powerful Bullpup Rifle, new wardrobe items, the Dinka Thrust motorcycle and three new lavish cars to choose from, including the Super class Pegassi Zentorno. The High Life Update will also feature the debut of multi-property ownership in GTA Online, which means players will be able to own two distinct properties (with garages) simultaneously. All this plus the new Mental State player statistic, which is designed to let players see just how passive or psychotically unhinged fellow players in their session really are, and a slew of new Jobs.

Heists: Coming this spring to Grand Theft Auto Online, players can team up with their most trusted Crew members or with random other mercenaries in Grand Theft Auto Online to pull off cooperative Heist Missions for glory and profit. Stay tuned for much more information to come.

CONTINUING REFINEMENTS BASED ON COMMUNITY FEEDBACK

  • The addition of a 'Non-Contact' option for Races. This will allow you to play standard Races with collisions disabled between player vehicles. Other players will appear as semi-transparent and you'll still be able to collide with non-player traffic, structures and other scenery, but this mode - for those who want to play it - will eliminate the "rubbing is racing" mentality that some wish to avoid.
  • Players will be able to call Lester and have him tell his cop buddies to turn a blind eye to any crime you may or may not be committing for a short period of time.
  • As a reward for players who leave feedback on Jobs, there will be some bonus RP granted every time a player likes or dislikes content after playing it.
  • GTA$ payouts will be increased when completing Parachute, Races, Deathmatches and LTS Jobs with less than 4 players.
  •  As part of our ongoing commitment to target cheaters and keep the game as fair as possible, we are closing RP exploits and will be adjusting the RP totals of players who we know for certain to have gained illegitimate RP by cheating. Your RP will only be adjusted if you participated in mods, hacks, DNS redirects, manipulation of cloud files, or other similarly nefarious behavior. If you grinded short legitimate missions or otherwise gained a small amount of RP without modding, your RP should not be affected by this correction.
  • We’ll be fixing the issue where players who had upgraded personal vehicles prior to Title Update 1.10 were only able to sell them for $10,000.

The information also hints at the arrival of various holiday-themed updates, with Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas among the most likely candidates to receive the Rockstar treatment. Here's hoping the content will go beyond the usual assortment of Santa suits, pilgrim hats and ghoulish masks.

Also mentioned is the game's mysterious story mode DLC, which considering the title's plethora of endings is likely to take place during a standard run-through of the game, rather than at its end. Despite stating that the content is set to arrive later this year, the press release offers no other real information regarding the add-on, though Rockstar has hinted that the content will once again star the game's trio of protagonists — something GTA IV's narrative DLC declined to do.

Are you still playing Grand Theft Auto Online? Which of these fixes, tweaks and content drops most appeals to you? Does the online title live up to your expectations of a multiplayer GTA? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to check in with all of the latest Take-Two Interactive news, right here on Game Rant.

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Grand Theft Auto V is now available for Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3 platforms. The GTA Online Spring Updates are scheduled to roll out during the spring of 2014 (mid-March to mid-June).

Follow Sam on Twitter @GamingGoo.