Exclusive screens and new information on GTA Online’s Agents of Sabotage update

While we look back at over a decade of GTA Online

Rockstar

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Your bank balance is shrinking faster than horse testes on Mount Hagen, you only see daylight for a few hours each turn of the planet, and the cost of keeping warm is like balancing your needs in Frostpunk 2, but there’s plenty to look forward to. Presents under the tree, GTA 6 could be less than a year away (hold me tight), and the festivities are coming to Los Santos once more. 

Rockstar always keeps players busy during December with GTA Online’s Winter Update, whether it’s covering Los Santos in a blanket of snow or creating entirely new areas for players to explore, and this year is no different. The community is already putting on its mittens and woolly hats.

“As someone who’s played GTA Online since the very beginning, the first time they brought snow to Los Santos in Christmas in 2013 was such a special feeling,” YouTuber GhillieMaster says. “It changed the map and brought in new vibes that contrasted from the normal sunny days of Los Santos. Eventually they started adding in major content updates alongside the holiday season which I always looked forward to at the end of each year.”

This year’s big update is Agents of Sabotage. Once installed, you’re able to access a new
property, The Darnell Bros Garment Factory, which comes kitted out with a passive income safe and a Mk II Weapon Workshop, as well as a basement garage that’s like your very own Batcave, opening up fast travel between select locations using subterranean pathways. 

Rockstar

Keeping with the theme of subterfuge, your Benefactor Terrorbyte can now be equipped with a Silent Running module to hide your dirty deeds from other players, keeping your map blip invisible as you drive around Los Santos incognito mode, managing stock and supplies from the new Master Control Terminal. When you are spotted, there’s a Missile Lock-On Jammer to stop incoming ballistics before they hit, too. 

As is tradition, it’s gonna be a big one. There’s plenty more coming, including new vehicles, holiday events, and all-new siren options for patrol vehicles, but you’ll have to wait for tomorrow’s Rockstar Newswire for all the details. 

Until then, why don’t we look back at what made GTA Online special for the past 11 years. 

“My favorite memory is hopping on with my exact same friends for the past ten years on Christmas Day to drive around the map,” Rockstar Intel’s Synth Potato says. “I grew up with these guys. It is a testament to Rockstar's support – what an insane achievement it is that GTAO has lasted as long as it has. Rockstar has managed to make it the Everything Game. Hop on to play an awesome racing game, a great PvP game, a great story game, and a solid sandbox all around. There's something in GTAO for everyone.”

Real connections have been made in the streets of Los Santos. The game might feature violence, gang rivalries, and con artists (and yes, there’s always that one kid shooting indiscriminantly), but few games require as much collaboration as this. The heists are some of the most fun you can have in co-op with other players, but everyone has their role and everyone must work together to get the best payout. Whether it’s the hardcore roleplaying scene on PC, people pulling off perfect heists, or players just messing around in the sandbox, real bonds are forged. I know it’s a strapline from the wrong game, but these players are outlaws for life. 

“Christmas 2014 was still the early days of GTA Online, the snow had just been added,” GTA Series’ Yan2295 says. “I invited a bunch of friends who didn't necessarily all know each other to a private session where we spent hours just driving around in the snow admiring the scenery, having snowball fights, shooting off fireworks and just generally having a good time.” 

That’s the secret sauce to Rockstar’s games: It doesn’t matter how you engage with them, there’s an unpredictability to the sandbox that creates a sense that anything could happen. Fire off the same firework from the same spot five times and the advanced physics underpinning the simulation means you’ll never get the exact same result. It reminds me of one ill-fated heist where one guy in our team could not, for the life of him, work his parachute, but watching him fall to his death in dozens of ridiculous ways was some of the most fun I’ve had online.  There's a reason GTA 5 is the biggest game of the last 20 years.

Rockstar

That’s why almost everyone I’ve spoken to in the community has a different answer when I ask them what their favorite Winter Update is. As brilliant as the updates are, it’s also fresh context for more shenanigans. The memories people make in these modes stick with them, and that’s what they remember the most. 

“My favorite DLC released in December (2019) – the Casino Heists,” YouTuber and Twitch streamer Gtamen tells me. “It really revived my love for the game and was a complete game changer in terms of what Rockstar could do with heists and content in general. No longer did you have to go into matchmaking and rely on it to work. You could just do everything in free roam without restrictions. The amount of new options for heists allowed for all sorts of ways to tackle them.” 

“I’ve had a lot of good moments with Winter updates such as The Doomsday Heist, the Cayo Perico Heist, The Contract and The Diamond Casino Heist,” GTA Net’s Spider-Vice adds. “I’d say one of my favourite memories is the launch of The Cayo Perico Heist, because it was an entirely new map expansion to the game, a whole new place to explore, to look for easter eggs, and, of course, rob from. Strategising for the heist and seeing everyone online come up with their own theories and strategies was a huge breath of fresh air in the community.” 

“In 2021, Rockstar surprised us with The Contract, which remains one of my favorites,” community member Ben Turpin says. “It brought back iconic story mode characters (Franklin and Lamar) and featured Dr. Dre in the main plot. It was genuinely nothing but pure fun. I’ve been playing GTA Online since my mid-childhood, so it’s become a big part of my life. Now, at 23, it’s hard to step away from a game that’s been there through both my highs and lows.” 

There’s a sense of finality with this update, too. With everyone in the community mentioning their hunger for more info on GTA 6 (slated for a 2025 release), there’s a sense this could be one of GTA Online’s last big updates. What better excuse to head back to Los Santos to lob snowballs at your pals.