Cayo Perico Survival in GTA Online: How to play, and rewards

Rockstar has introduced a new zombie survival game mode called Cayo Perico Survival in GTA Online. This seems to be quite similar to last year's Ludendorff Cemetery Survival, which was added during Halloween week. This year, however, Halloween seems to have arrived early.

This job also comes with its own unique rewards, such as an instantly unlockable in-game t-shirt. There are even bigger rewards for those who manage to survive all ten rounds. With that in mind, this article explains the game mode in detail, along with all obtainable rewards and how to unlock them.

Everything to know about Cayo Perico Survival in GTA Online

Cayo Perico Survival in GTA Online, as its name suggests, is a survival game mode that takes place on the island of Cayo Perico. It was added to the game with the latest GTA Online weekly update on August 28, 2025.

You'll start the round stranded in the compound area with a crashed helicopter and have to fight off waves of different types of zombies. Your radar will be turned off except in the weapon wheel, so be sure to check your health from time to time if you receive any kind of damage.

There are various items to pick up throughout the map, such as weapons, explosives, and health boosts. Apart from the regular civilian zombies introduced in Ludendorff Cemetery Survival, you'll also face an armored Conquistador armed with a musket that can only be taken down with melee attacks. There's also a new type of animal enemy, the possessed panther, and they show up along with their trainers (who are also zombies).

How to start Cayo Perico Survival in GTA Online

You can find this in the Jobs menu (Image via Rockstar Games)

Cayo Perico Survival can be played solo or with friends. Here's how you can start the game mode:

Go to the Pause menu.
Move to the Online tab and select Jobs.
Now, choose Play Jobs > Rockstar Created > Survivals.
Search for Cayo Perico Survival among the game modes listed here.

You can also launch the Cayo Perico Series from your in-game phone, or head to Terminal in Los Santos, where you'll find a palm tree icon representing Cayo Perico.

Read more: GTA Online weekly discounts

How to progress through Cayo Perico Survival in GTA Online

Survive long enough to leave the island (Image via Rockstar Games)

While you'll have to deal with the first few waves of zombies on foot, you'll soon get a vehicle to move ahead on the island. The zombie types will increase as the waves go on, introducing Splitters (who spawn new copies on death), Conquistadors, exploding and armored zombies, and more.

The locations progress as follows: Compound > Main Dock > West Beach > North Dock.

After completing these locations and moving on, the final decision is up to you: You can either leave Cayo Perico or choose to play on with the Endless Waves option. The latter lets you pick a location from the previously mentioned ones (Compound, Main Dock, West Beach, or North Dock), where you try to survive as long as you can.

If you decide to leave Cayo Perico, you'll have to head to the airstrip and board a Velum aircraft to return to Los Santos. All this while, zombies will be on your tail, so Cayo Perico Survival in GTA Online becomes an extraction shooter at this point.

Also check: How to get $2,000,000 from GTA Online End of Summer Giveaway

Rewards obtained through Cayo Perico Survival in GTA Online

You'll get this tee by completing all 10 waves (Image via Rockstar Games)

Like with any other newly introduced game mode, there are some unique rewards for playing Cayo Perico Survival in GTA Online:

Finishing all ten waves of this game mode will get you the I Survived Cayo Perico Tee. Simply playing it once won't do it.
Surviving all ten waves will also net you the latest weekly challenge ("Complete all ten waves of a Survival") reward, which is The Buccaneer Outfit and $100,000.

In addition to this, playing the Cayo Perico Survival series will get you 2x cash and RP. If you're a GTA+ member, this gets upgraded to 4x bonuses.

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About the author

Rajarshi is an esports analyst at Sportskeeda. He holds an M.A. (English) degree from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. In his spare time, he enjoys playing video games, particularly open-world titles and role-playing games (RPGs) and is particularly fond of the GTA franchise and has played nearly every title in the series. When he's not playing video games or writing for Sportskeeda, he enjoys studying history or practicing martial arts such as kickboxing and Muay Thai.

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Edited by Niladri Roy