Why GTA Online needs to bring back Vigilante missions

Vigilante missions were among the most fun optional activities in old Grand Theft Auto games. Unfortunately, they are missing from GTA Online. In fact, this side mission category is also absent from Grand Theft Auto 5's story mode. Rockstar Games hasn't really explained why this popular feature was ditched in the 2013 title, but the developer can right this wrong by adding such missions to its multiplayer in the near future.

Grand Theft Auto Online is in dire need of fresh and exciting content, and this fan-favorite gameplay element could be exactly what players need. With that said, let's take a closer look at why Rockstar Games needs to bring back Vigilante missions.

Note: This article is subjective in nature.

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Vigilante missions can be a fresh and exciting addition to GTA Online

The presence of Vigilante missions gives old GTA titles an upper hand over Grand Theft Auto 5 and Online. Players can initiate them in games like Grand Theft Auto 3, 4, Vice City, and San Andreas by entering a police vehicle. While the objective is pretty straightforward, chasing and hunting down criminals, the process is entertaining.

Grand Theft Auto 4 arguably features the best iteration of Vigilante missions, as players can access Liberty City Police Department's criminal database from inside a cop car and select one of a few recently reported crimes to tackle. The crimes are divided into three categories - Gang Activity, Suspect on Foot, and Stolen Vehicle.

Vigilante missions provide an enjoyable escape from the story missions, and one can take them up any time. Grand Theft Auto Online would greatly benefit from something like this.

GTA Online features some great missions and activities, but the game is now ten years old. Rockstar hasn't really renewed its mission design, so players have become bored of the same old repetitive tasks. In a nutshell, the introduction of Vigilante missions could provide an interesting new mechanic to have fun with, adding a whole new dimension to the gameplay.

The positive reception of recently added police vehicles in GTA Online with December 2023's The Chop Shop update, and the anticipation around the unreleased Bravado Police Gauntlet Interceptor car, which was data mined in the DLC's files, indicate that Vigilante missions could be well-received by the community.

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Notably, taxi missions, a similar feature from old titles in the series, were added to the multiplayer fairly recently as Taxi Work. And, considering there is still some time before Grand Theft Auto 6 comes out, Rockstar should bring back Vigilante missions in the multiplayer title as well.

If that doesn't pan out, the developer should include it in the next game. Not much has been revealed yet, but next year's GTA 6 release has triggered multifarious discussions in the community about what players can expect.