With the re-release of GTA V and GTA Online on the next generation of consoles in March of 2022, the GTA+ Subscription service was added to the game.
Despite the controversial launch with exclusive cosmetic items like clothing, liveries for vehicles, etc., and timed exclusive upgrades for vehicles, the subscription service has primarily offered sub-par bonuses on missions or game modes that do not come even close to the payouts of Cayo Perico Heist which is the best money-making activity in the game.
And in this article, we are simply going to elaborate on how GTA+ is changing the game itself and what we can expect in the future.
So what's new with GTA+?
The latest bonuses for this month (July 2022) offer something that has never been offered before to this degree. 100% loot chance for Diamonds as part of the Casino Heist.
And that too with 50% off on crew cuts, which increases the payouts even more. Usually, Diamonds are unlocked only during special event weeks that come once or twice an entire year.
But even during those event weeks, the players barely had an 8% chance of finding Diamonds in the vault (15 to 18% on special occasions). Even then, players around the globe would launch their game and scope the Casino Vault in hopes to find Diamonds.
However, now if you are a GTA+ member, you will always get Diamonds as loot, and that too for up to a whole month. And part of the reason, Diamonds are so much sought after by the players is because the overall loot value is more than 3.6 million GTA$ which is roughly 25% more than the next best available target (i.e, Gold) which has a chance of 18% on regular weeks (currently for non GTA+ members).
Obviously, if you have played this heist enough, you would know that due to crew and player cuts under normal circumstances, Diamonds are only slightly better than Artwork and Gold as targets on average.
Speedrunners can clear most of the vault with a team of two, but casual players will require at least 3 players to clear the same vault because of time limitations.
And even then, players can earn more with Cayo Perico Heist (approximately 2.4 million per Hour). As a quick comparison, with Cayo Perico Heist, players can earn an average of 1.5 million per Heist which can be completed in 35 to 40 minutes.
However, this week with Diamonds as the target and 50% off on crew cuts, players can earn an average of 2.33 million per Heist which can take 65 to 75 minutes (given the host completes all necessary preps solo and takes a maximum possible cut).
Is GTA+ really bad?
Given how the bonuses and payouts for certain Heists and missions are changing for GTA+ members, the Panther Statue (only released twice to date since its launch of Cayo Perico Heist DLC in December 2020) may only be part of the GTA+ subscription service like the Diamonds in Casino Heist. And if that happens, the payouts will be even wilder. Players will be able to earn 3.3 million per Hour legitimately.
Keeping the cosmetic items aside, changing the money-making meta of the game will create even more upset within the GTA Online community.
Before we say that the GTA+ subscription service is Pay To Win, we would like to remind everyone that the game has always been Pay To Win, since its launch with the availability of Shark Cards as part of the in-game Micro-Transactions.
However, all in-game items could previously be purchased by earning the currency in the game. All content within the game was also playable without the purchase of Micro-Transactions. And now, certain content (like this week's Diamonds in Casino Heist) is only available with the GTA+ subscription service along with the 50% off on crew cuts.
And with the DLC around the corner, it's even more likely that certain content will be locked behind the GTA+ subscription service (temporarily or permanently).
Imagine if a very powerful weaponized vehicle similar to Oppressor MkII is locked behind the subscription service then the Pay To Win aspect of the game will be even clearer.
How does GTA+ fair against other game subscription services?
A very good comparison example would be Fallout 1st. If you have been familiar with Bethesda game studios recently, you might also be aware of Fallout 76 due to its controversial launch beset by game-affecting glitches and a dearth of engaging content.
After a year of its initial release, Fallout 76's online subscription service, Fallout 1st, was announced, where players and critics alike did not like this step taken by Bethesda Game Studios because of the Pay To Win items and services added as part of the subscription service there weren't unlockable through gameplay.
Granted the GTA+ subscription service is still miles better than Shark Cards in terms of value for money, but it doesn't get a free pass due to the exclusive content locked behind it, especially when it is not cosmetic.
What does this mean for the future of GTA Online?
As time goes on, the subscription service will probably get worse and we might even see an entire DLC locked behind it. But locking an entire DLC behind the subscription service goes against the principle of GTA Online set by Rockstar Games over the past 8.5 years.
But this could also mean the beginning of an end to the online component of GTAV, where Rockstar Games is simply experimenting with this subscription service and collecting the necessary data required for building the monetized content for the online component for the next GTA title which is in development.
We would love to hear your opinions on this, so feel free to comment down below.