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2022 was certainly a memorable year full of many significant changes to GTA Online that are worth covering in a recap. Unforgettable elements like the Annis 300R being a limited-time purchase or Halloween Events were notable, but the contents in the top five of this listicle are arguably even bigger in terms of importance.
This list will focus on entries that profoundly affected the playerbase rather than just an opinionated piece. At the very least, most readers should be able to remember how significant these changes were when they were introduced.
Five of the most notable changes that occurred in GTA Online in 2022
5) Bigger focus on quality-of-life and other small changes
Several major updates introduced in 2022 focused on quality-of-life changes. Take the following examples:
- Nightclubs pay up to $50,000 an in-game day rather than up to $10,000
- Mechanics delivering cars quicker than ever
- Cars arriving at a player's garage faster than before
- Triple payment on all Hangar Sell Missions
- Agatha Baker Casino Story Missions are now available to solo players
- The ability to remove iFruit Contacts from your phone
- Being able to run in more indoor environments
Several moneymakers got buffed, and minor inconveniences were removed. Such details might not be the most exciting to look at on paper, but they helped make GTA Online feel more modern and less clunky compared to previous years.
This point isn't confined to a single part of the year; rather, the entirety of 2022 as a whole.
4) The Criminal Enterprises and Los Santos Drug Wars
Unsurprisingly, the new major content updates introduced many significant changes to GTA Online in 2022. The Criminal Enterprises debuted on July 26, 2022, and brought forth:
- Agent ULP missions
- Cayo Perico races
- Several balance changes
- Buried Stashes and LD Organics Products
- Plenty of new vehicles
Likewise, the Los Santos Drug Wars debuted on December 13, 2022, and is still introducing content in 2023. The additions that players got in 2022 include:
- First Dose Missions
- Fooligan Jobs
- Acid Lab business
- Christmas Event
- Several new vehicles
Both updates were pretty memorable, even if they were on the smaller side compared to more extensive updates from previous years.
3) GTA+
The most controversial addition to this year was GTA+. Many GTA Online players hated the idea of another microtransaction being introduced in the game. However, Take-Two has spoken of the subscription's success in the past before. GTA+ debuted on March 29, 2022, and has given players new rewards every month thereafter.
Essentially, subscribers pay monthly to get a bevy of benefits that range from $500,000 to a free property and vehicle. It's not for everybody, but there's no denying it had a massive presence in GTA Online discussions this year.
This service will continue in 2023.
2) Oppressor Mk II and Cayo Perico Heist nerfs
Balance changes are often exciting in GTA Online, especially when it comes to buffing mediocre content to become more enticing. However, the opposite is also interesting to see in action. The Cayo Perico Heist and Oppressor Mk II underwent some significant nerfs in The Criminal Enterprises update.
Solo players were forced to wait for a longer cooldown after completing The Cayo Perico Heist, and the likeliness of their Primary Target being expensive also decreased for the next 72 hours. Ultimately, this was a significant nerf to solo players' ability to grind for money.
The second nerf to mention here was the Oppressor Mk II having its offensive and defensive measures greatly reduced. Its homing missile accuracy became noticeably worse, becoming borderline useless in dogfights against other aerial combatants.
The second nerf was that its flare and chaff had a much longer cooldown, making it easier to target with a homing missile in return.
1) PS5 and Xbox Series X|S ports
Two new ports are quite a big deal, especially since it meant that GTA Online was guaranteed to live for at least another few years. Rockstar Games even released several new exclusive vehicles at this time, tied to a brand new feature known as Hao's Special Works.
Basically, most vehicles with HSW Modifications tend to have a higher top speed, accelerate quicker, and handle better than their non-HSW counterparts. They've been quite dominant in races, but they weren't the only change in these ports.
New graphics modes included Fidelity Mode, which had ray-tracing and a generally better appearance than the default PC settings. Do note that GTA Online arrived on March 15, 2022, and PS5 players were able to get the game for free for three months from that point.
Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective.
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