Is San Andreas Mercenaries the final major update for GTA Online: What do we know so far

Grand Theft Auto (GTA) Online's latest summer DLC, the San Andreas Mercenaries update, finally came out on June 13, 2023. It included new missions, vehicles, and several necessary quality-of-life upgrades. However, just like The Last Dose update, this one was also relatively short, having only six campaign missions that can be wrapped up in a few hours.

Hence, many are curious if Rockstar Games will soon stop providing fresh content for the game. Grand Theft Auto 6 being heavily rumored to release within a year or two has also left fans wondering if San Andreas Mercenaries was the final major update for GTA Online.

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Everything we know about major updates in GTA Online after San Andreas Mercenaries

Earlier in March this year, Grand Theft Auto Online's Design Director, Scott Butchard, confirmed that the game will receive many updates throughout 2023. He specifically mentioned a Halloween event, the contents of which have already been data mined.

It is reported that the Halloween update might introduce a ghost-hunting event wherein players must take pictures of apparitions. One of the leaked apparitions is of Johnny Klebitz, the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto IV: Lost and Damned, who was killed early on in the current game's story mode.

The leaked reward for taking pictures of all the apparitions is supposedly a unique livery for the Albany Brigham, one of the vehicles in GTA Online. Moreover, several Halloween-themed clothing items, masks, and soundtrack were also data mined from the game's files.

Hence, GTA Online San Andreas Mercenaries is probably not the game's final major update.

Besides leaks, Rockstar Games has officially confirmed the arrival of many new things later this summer. One of the notable features is the return of Armored Van Robberies, a Freemode event that allows players to make a decent amount of money.

Rockstar has also announced an upcoming large-scale battle that will take place on the Cayo Perico island. While the details of this event haven't been revealed yet, some fans believe it could be a battle royale mode.

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However, recent events also point towards the close release of Grand Theft Auto 6. Therefore, many think Rockstar Games must have diverted most of the development team's attention to the sequel.

While this might be true, the next game's release is at least two years away. At Take-Two's (Rockstar's parent company) recently held earnings call, it was announced that they expect eight billion dollars in Net Bookings around Fiscal Year 2025. This could be a by-product of GTA 6 releasing in that time frame.

Although a Fiscal Year is slightly different from a Calendar Year, it still marks a window between Holiday 2024 and early 2025. Hence, regular updates can be expected to drop in the meantime introducing new content and the fastest cars in GTA Online.