As promised, earlier today Rockstar launched the online section of Grand Theft Auto 5. Anyone with a copy of the game can jump on and access the separate mode right now.
The online section is its own entity from the single player campaign. It will offer story missions, which will be set months before the events featuring Michael, Franklin, and Trevor, and you will be able to create and customize your own character.
Each player has access to their own safehouse, which they can then invite other gamers to. In this safehouse gamers can store their vehicles earned in the game, or purchased via microtransaction. To allay concerns about this though, Rockstar also confirmed that you will need to earn Reputation Points (RP) before you can purchase the high-end vehicles, weapons, and clothing.
GTA Online is meant to be an ongoing project for Rockstar, so expect to see more content created and added over the coming weeks and months. Rockstar is accepting suggestions for new game modes. Later this fall, a content creator will also be released for fans. This will let players make their own custom races and deathmatches.
The first days of a new online game can be trying, and Rockstar has asked for patience following the launch. The game outsold even Rockstar’s projections, so there are bound to be some (hopefully minor) issues.
