Can GTA Online be played alone?

A common question that people tend to search on Google is, "Can GTA Online be played alone?" It might seem silly since it's a multiplayer game, but the answer is yes. In fact, the recent Criminal Enterprises update introduced the ability for players to do Sell Missions in Solo, Invite Only, or Friend Sessions.

There are several advantages to playing the game by oneself rather than joining a public session full of people. This article will highlight how GTA Online players can enjoy the game alone whilst revealing some activities they won't be able to do.

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How to play GTA Online alone?

Finding a private session can easily be done via the pause menu (Image via Rockstar Games)

New GTA Online players should know that they can get into a session by themselves extremely easily. The above image shows the start of the process. If newbies don't know how to get here, just do the following:

1. Pause the game.
2. Select Online.
3. Select Find New Session.

Note: Pausing the game for you doesn't pause it for everybody else. Thus, they can shoot at you while you look through the pause menu. Choose to do this when you know nobody is near you.

The different session types (Image via Rockstar Games)

Once the player selects "Find New Session," they should see a screen similar to the image above. If a player just wishes to be alone, then a Solo Session will suffice. Similarly, selecting an Invite Only Session works well while giving the player the benefit of inviting friends when they don't wish to go solo.

There is also a way to increase the likelihood of getting into public sessions by one's self, but the need to do that has decreased since The Criminal Enterprises update introduced the ability to do Sell Missions in these private sessions.

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Advantages of playing GTA Online alone

Doing Sell Missions without other players interfering is a godsend (Image via Rockstar Games)

The most obvious advantage of playing this game alone is that nobody else can grief the solo player. Thus, one is allowed to do anything they want to without interruption, such as:

• Sell Missions
• Do other business-related missions
• Exploring the map
• Getting collectibles

Most activities can be done alone. If one wishes to earn a ton of money, then buying a Kosatka and doing The Cayo Perico Heist is a great option. Likewise, some of the new Operation Paper Trail missions are something players can do if they want more lore.

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Disadvantages of playing GTA Online alone

You can't do The Diamond Casino alone (Image via Rockstar Games)

Although there are a ton of things that one can do by themselves in this game, that doesn't mean players can do everything solo. There are some activities where it's literally impossible to do unless there are others present. Examples include:

• All heists except The Cayo Perico Heist
• Some missions
• Certain Freemode events

The first bullet point is the most relevant one since heists are a great way to make a ton of money in GTA Online. Solo players only having access to The Cayo Perico Heist is a bit boring, not to mention the downtime of waiting several hours to redo it upon completion.

Readers should know that it's perfectly possible to only play GTA Online alone and never bother with group activities.