GTA Online Guide: Story, Characters, Updates, Vehicles and Missions

This GTA Online guide is your starting point for Rockstar North’s online multiplayer game: its story, characters, update hubs, vehicles, gangs and missions, all linked to our detailed articles. GTA Online was released on October 1, 2013, first as a free add-on reached through GTA V, and a standalone version followed on March 15, 2022.

Key facts

  • Developer and publisher: Rockstar North and Rockstar Games.
  • Editions: the original PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 version (shut down on December 16, 2021), the enhanced edition for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, and the Expanded and Enhanced edition for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
  • Setting: Southern San Andreas and the Caribbean island of Cayo Perico.
  • Content: more than 40 major updates, from heists and nightclubs to the casino and street racing.
  • Characters: you can create two, and your bank account is shared between them.

Story and setting

The story starts in 2013, a few months before GTA V. A silent, player-created newcomer moves to Los Santos, meets Lamar Davis, and is soon working for people such as the drug dealer Gerald and the car salesman Simeon Yetarian. Bigger jobs follow from Lester, Trevor and others, and you build your own criminal empire with an office, warehouses and a vehicle business. From the 2017 Gunrunning update onward, each new story takes place in its year of release, and recent updates reach the mid-2020s. Our guide to the five original heists covers payouts and the $10M challenge, and these career progress tips help you grow faster.

Main characters

Your own character is the GTA Online protagonist, and the people who hire you are listed in the characters section of the lexicon. Key contacts include Lamar Davis, Gerald, Simeon Yetarian, Lester Crest, Trevor Philips and the cartel boss Martin Madrazo. Your hangar partner is Ron Jakowski, while Dr. Dre and Imani take center stage in The Contract.

Missions and walkthroughs

All our mission articles sit in the GTA Online category, and Career Progress gathers the contact missions. Each update has a hub article:

For step-by-step help, try the Kortz Center Heist, the Dr. Dre VIP contract, dispatch work missions and the Most Wanted bounties. Collectors will like our collectibles guides, such as the 76 peyote plants and the 50 signal jammers. Racers can read about drift races.

Vehicles, gangs and places

The lexicon sorts everything by type: vehicles, gangs and factions, places and weapons. Start with the P-996 Lazer, the Annihilator or the Rhino, then meet The Lost MC, The Families and Merryweather Security. Key places include Los Santos, Cayo Perico and nightclubs, and the Minigun is a classic heavy weapon. Our vehicle guides cover prices and specs, and Smuggler’s Run is the place for aircraft.

Cheats and tools

Cheat codes do not work in GTA Online, so use the in-game progression and our guides instead. If you also play the story mode, our GTA 5 cheats page lists the working codes.

Other GTA editions

GTA Online follows the GTA 5 guide in the series and comes before the GTA 6 guide. Browse every game in the series lexicon, or open the full GTA Online lexicon for the A to Z list.

FAQ

Do cheat codes work in GTA Online?

No. Cheat codes are for the story mode of GTA V, and GTA Online relies on in-game progression instead.

Can I play GTA Online without GTA V?

Yes. A standalone version was released on March 15, 2022, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and the Expanded and Enhanced edition on PC includes it.

How many characters can I create?

You can create two characters. Money in your bank account is shared between them, but pocket cash and RP do not carry over, and changing a confirmed appearance costs GTA$100,000 in the enhanced edition.

When does the story take place?

It begins in 2013, a few months before GTA V. Since the 2017 Gunrunning update, each new update is set in its release year.