Is Last Dose the final major update for GTA Online: What do we know so far

The long-awaited GTA Online: Los Santos Drug Wars - The Last Dose update was officially released on March 16, 2023, with players across the world flocking to enjoy the brand new psychedelic experience that it has brought to the multiplayer game. Although it was released as a regular weekly update, it's technically a major DLC update that was divided into two parts.

Undoubtedly, this particular DLC has been a new experience for both players and Rockstar Games, as the gaming company has never divided major content into separate portions before. Interestingly, this decision reflects the current state of the multiplayer game and its contrast with the upcoming installment of the series.

This article discusses if The Last Dose is literally the last major update in GTA Online and how Rockstar Games has planned its future.

Note: This article is subjective and only reflects the writer's opinions.

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How Rockstar Games is preparing the grounds for GTA Online’s future with The Last Dose update

Grand Theft Auto Online has been around for nearly a decade, and the game has certainly seen a lot. The multiplayer version of GTA 5, which had only a handful of activities initially, now boasts a plethora of missions, heists, businesses, and other activities for players. In fact, activities based on real-life events have even been included in the game.

Although the title has regularly received both major and minor updates since its release, the latest Los Santos Drug Wars DLC and the most recent The Last Dose drip-feed update have introduced a number of oddities to the game.

It's certainly one of the smallest DLCs that's ever been released in the game, which has led to the community having mixed feelings about it. Rockstar has begun to introduce limited-time drip-feed content into the game, most of which have no guarantee of returning in the future. Businesses and missions are being recycled either from previous titles in the franchise or from the same game.

While many players believe that this is the final DLC for GTA Online, Rockstar Games officials have differing opinions. During the Q3 earnings call on February 6, 2023, Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar's parent company, assured players that there would be future updates in the game. Karl Slatoff, the parent company's current President, stated:

“Throughout the balance of the fiscal year, Rockstar Games will continue to support Grand Theft Auto Online with additional content updates.”

The community reacted to this statement by claiming that recent updates have been fairly minor and not as thrilling as before. While this is true to some extent, players should keep in mind that the gaming company has shifted most of its resources into the development of GTA 6, which is expected to be released in early 2025.

Speaking about upcoming updates to Grand Theft Auto Online, Rockstar North design director Scott Butchard shared a few words with Joe Donnelly from GamesRadar+:

“We take inspiration from comments on forums or videos and screenshots players have taken of things they’ve done in-game… There’s a fun example of this that’s coming for this year’s Halloween event that makes me laugh every time…”

Furthermore, Tez2, a popular game data miner, revealed that Rockstar may include Grand Theft Auto 6's official teaser with the upcoming summer update in GTA Online, but this statement is completely speculative in nature.

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To summarize, although the DLCs have been reduced in size, there will still be plenty of updates released for the game. Based on what the developers have said before, players can expect to see more GTA Online updates before the highly anticipated sequel officially arrives.