The Criminal Enterprises is a real boon for single player fans. Why GTA Online is now really profitable for solo players, explains Thomas in his column.
I”m a multiplayer muffle If I have to choose between multi-player and single-player, my choice falls on the latter when in doubt. I know, that”s just a bit paradoxical, since I”ve now put more than 1,000 hours of play into GTA Online. But there”s a good reason for that: GTA Online now offers a lot of material to keep me busy as a solo player over this period and beyond.
Now, thanks to The Criminal Enterprises, there is additional fodder. Because with a handful of small but fine changes, GTA Online will be even more exciting for single player fans. For those who want to plunge into the online world of Los Santos alone and without friends or strangers, the best opportunity has come in 2022!
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From a focus on co-op to a focus on solo
GTA Online has a really exciting development story behind it. Because relatively soon after the launch of Grand Theft Auto 5”s multiplayer mode in 2013, its future was on the line. Apart from a few missions and occupational therapies, there wasn”t too much to do in the online game world for months.
Accordingly, the air was quickly out for many players. At least until 2015, when the first really big update appeared parallel to the PC version and brought an absolute highlight from the story mode to GTA Online: the Heists. These particularly challenging and complex missions rely on the teamwork of four players and laid the foundation for what GTA Online would become to this day: a huge multiplayer spectacle, which even almost ten years after its release (Millions of players) thrills.
From the classic Heists to the Doomsday Heist to the Diamond Casino Heist, these were all fantastic, challenging and rewarding missions (at least except for the grudgingly difficult Act 2 preparation missions of the Doomsday scenario, ugh). But with a big catch: If you didn”t have friendly teammates or didn”t want to rely on help from strangers, you were screwed.
Of course, there were missions and activities without end besides the heists, but in very few of them you could do without supporting teammates without any problems. For example, the CEO sales missions, with which millions can be raked in in just a few hours, but which also come with correspondingly high risks.
So far, these types of missions could only be completed in public lobbies. Especially on the PC, a horror, because there are not only grifters in jets or on flying rocket motorbikes, who turned my delivery, which I had painstakingly collected over hours, into rubble within seconds. No, until today Rockstar has done far too little against the enormous danger of cheaters and multiplayer modders on the PC, which is why I no longer dare to go into public sessions on the computer.
Just one reason why my circle of friends withdrew more and more from GTA Online. But I had long since fallen madly in love with the game world of Los Santos, had already exhausted the story mode ad nauseam and was only constantly served new content in GTA Online. Without friends and in closed sessions, however, I eventually ran out of food and thus ran out of fun with GTA Online.
By the way: If you”re wondering how to top up your account in GTA Online without having to use your credit card, our money guide will help you out:
Turnaround Cayo Perico
But that was to change abruptly in 2020! Because at that time, with Cayo Perico not only an expansion of the map appeared, but the first heist that could be completed completely solo and without teammates . That was all it took for me to double my paltry 500 hours of play on Steam since the release of the Cayo Perico Heist. Meanwhile, I was definitely not the only one who was completely captivated by the new update and the new options for single player players.
Because the massive interest of the GTA Online community in solo fodder did not go unnoticed by Rockstar. For example, the developers told me personally in the aftermath of the Cayo Perico Heist that they were surprised by the interest and now want to offer much more single-player content in the future – and Rockstar has definitely kept their word.
Since Cayo Perico, just about every mission that has been released since then can be completed solo and also in closed sessions: From Los Santos Tuners to The Contract to The Criminal Enterprises, I no longer have to rely on teammates or face the dangers of public (PC) lobbies.
What has happened again in 2022
But not only that: With The Criminal Enterprises, Rockstar is now even making missions and activities playable again for players like me, which I had actually written off years ago! For me, the most important new feature of the 2022 Summer Update is not a car or a new weapon, but the ability to start and complete business activities as CEO or President in solo sessions.
By the way, you can find all the new content and improvements of The Criminal Enterprises here:
This means that I no longer have to put myself at risk of public meetings for the extremely lucrative sales missions of crates, special cargo, vehicles and so on. The missions are not automatically a walk in the park, as Rockstar continues to throw AI opponents at me without end, but I can cope with them on my own and without the support of human players.
Sure, I could have cheated my way into public solo sessions long before The Criminal Enterprises – there are already more or less dubious fan instructions without end. To be honest, though, I”ve never been able to reconcile that with my personal sense of honour as a video gamer, so I”m more than happy about this change.
GTA Online … alone
What started with Cayo Perico has now become reality with The Criminal Enterprises at the latest: GTA Online has established itself as a really attractive game for single player fans. Because by now there is a proud range of activities for solo players: whether it”s races, missions, bunker and nightclub management, collectible hunting, parachute jumps, heists and so on – strictly speaking, I don”t have to rely on anyone else.
Of course, I don”t want to deny GTA Online its fun in playing with or against other players. But anyone who has ever let off steam in multiplayer games knows only too well the difficulties this can bring. From finding common dates among friends to depending on strangers who either can”t – or won”t – communicate with you.
At least I”m damn happy now to be able to do my own thing in GTA Online. And that”s always with the possibility in the back of my hand that a fellow player will spontaneously come along and join me in a joint adventure. Somehow I have to shorten the waiting time until GTA 6. What we know so far about the next Grand Theft Auto can be found here:
How do you see it: Is GTA Online an attractive single player game for you? Or do you prefer to play only with friends? I would also be interested in your opinion on The Criminal Enterprises: What do you think of the latest update? What do you wish for the future? Let me know in the comments!
