5 things that show GTA Online is outdated

GTA Online, Grand Theft Auto 5's incredibly popular multiplayer variant, is a little over 10 years old. This alone accounts for it being outdated in a way. Rockstar Games has released fresh content for it regularly in the past decade; however, there are still some elements that show its age and set it apart from other modern video games.

With that said, let's take a look at five things that show Grand Theft Auto Online is outdated.

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Mission design and 4 other things that show GTA Online is outdated

1) Character creation

GTA Online beginners must create a fictional character when entering the online mode for the first time. While the customization menu offers some decent options, it can be considered pretty basic overall.

Modern video games have made strides in this department. For instance, the character customization that Cyberpunk 2077 features is incredibly extensive and is one of the best examples to illustrate how much the 2013 title lacks in this area.

Although this doesn't necessarily impact gameplay, the absence of a detailed character creator is far from ideal today. The developer will likely avoid updating it now, but GTA 6's character creator for the online mode is expected to make significant improvements.

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2) How one listens to music

Grand Theft Auto 5 and Online have a great playlist consisting of a nice mix of classic and modern songs. But the way one listens to music in the multiplayer is the same as it has been in the series for a long time. Songs only play inside vehicles, and there is no way to listen to music upon exiting them.

This is another indicator of how outdated the game is, as one can listen to music on foot in titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and even in 2016's Watch Dogs 2. It will be interesting to see if a similar feature is added via a future GTA Online update, but it should be present in Grand Theft Auto 6 at the very least.

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3) Mission design

As stated earlier, Rockstar Games has regularly released updates for the title and also drops a GTA Online weekly update every Thursday. However, the gameplay is pretty much the same as it was 10 years ago. Even new DLCs mostly feature missions that task players with quests they have done previously on numerous occasions.

These missions offer little variety, and users barely feel any excitement when playing them since the formula is overused and outdated in 2024, with rather simplistic mechanics. In fact, the same types of missions have been in the series since before 2013 and can also be found in other AAA titles of the same genre.

Hence, GTA 6's story and Online mode must reinvent the wheel to some degree in this department.

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4) NPC behavior

The criticisms related to the NPC behavior in Grand Theft Auto 5 and Online are a result of the standards set by Rockstar itself. The 2013 game took a major step back from the kind of NPC behavior and AI seen in Grand Theft Auto 4. GTA Online's NPCs have very simple and predictable behavior, and most of them seem to just exist to fill up space.

The level of detail in Red Dead Redemption 2 (the studio's 2018 release) and how its pedestrians behave is a clear indicator of just how far the technology has come. It will be interesting to see how GTA 6 handles these interactions, but GTA Online has fallen behind the curve in this regard,

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5) Graphics

Possibly the most obvious sign of GTA Online being outdated is its visual effects. It is interesting that these graphics were once considered the best in the industry. Although the title's re-releases have enhanced the visuals to some degree, most modern video games look significantly better.

In fact, Grand Theft Auto 6's debut trailer alone makes this game feel old. Needless to say, this isn't Grand Theft Auto Online's fault, but it's just a natural drawback that games are subject to years after launch.