New in GTA Online: Autonomous Taxis, Mission Editor, and More

Michael’s return and the long-awaited ability to purchase Mansions have been combined into a single GTA Online expansion. A Safehouse in The Hills (ASiTH 🙂) has proven extremely popular — and for good reason.

Mansions

Of course, many players would love to own [Playboy] mansion in Richman, but the developers offered a solid alternative instead. They renovated the house once occupied by Devin Weston over a decade ago and used that project as the basis for two brand-new properties. To avoid confusion, each was given a distinct name.

Normally, properties that go on sale are limited to a single unit, forcing players to decide which option is better, more convenient, or more profitable. This time, there’s no risk of choice paralysis — you can buy all three at once. Assuming your finances allow it. Even a single Mansion is far from cheap. The most expensive option, fully renovated and without discounts costs GTA$ 18.6 million, compared to GTA$ 8.5 million for the discounted budget configuration.

But for roughly three times the price, you get far more than three times the content. You can use different interiors, the garages offer 60 slots in total (20 per Mansion), there’s more space for displaying in-game achievement Trophies, and instead of one vehicle on a personal Podium, you can showcase three. The downside is a shared AI assistant across all three properties — you can’t assign a different one to each Mansion. As a result, the only way to experience the other “personalities” (the sexualized Angel, the traditional butler Haviland, and OG) is by switching characters.

The home AI doesn’t just handle household tasks (throwing parties, ordering champagne, decorating interiors for birthdays, Christmas, New Year, Lunar New Year, and Halloween), but is also genuinely useful for business: it boosts production speeds and can teleport you where needed. From the office, you can also access any business in your criminal empire. Hired security not only patrols the perimeter but reduces the likelihood of raids to almost zero — if your staff is fully upgraded.

Designated areas allow you to practice Yoga and work out, directly affecting your Stats, just like the swimming pool and hot tub. While most features existed in some form before, the gym equipment is something entirely new — at least for players. NPCs have long been lifting weights, for example on beach gym, but unfortunately those remain unavailable to us. Still, if that had been implemented, the Mansion would have lost one of its exclusive features.

The ability to own a Pet is something truly special. While cats and dogs themselves — and the option to pet them — aren’t new, once they’re added (one species at a time, since owning six different animals is sadly not possible), returning to a top-tier safehouse becomes even more enjoyable.

Some rooms are specifically designed so you never need to leave the property at all. The Salon combines Barber and Tattoo services — haircuts are completely free, while tattoos oddly still cost money. Free appearance changes would have fit perfectly here, but that option isn’t available. On the plus side, there’s a media zone with movies, a nightclub with parties, an arcade with machines (if you own the related business), and more.

Players who have already achieved everything — or at least something — will appreciate the Trophy room, where awards earned throughout their criminal career can be displayed. If you’ve collected many, choosing what to show off becomes a challenge. In next-gen versions, special plaques can be mounted near display cases and the map (which shows owned properties, though not all of them), indicating completed Career Progress categories. Another sign of success is the Vault, filled with the money currently in your account. Once the amount becomes excessive, cash is replaced with gold.

The garage is quite spacious, though it would have been nice if two driveway spots and one podium slot were separate from the main 20.

Story Arc

The new story mission series is not tied to the Mansions, meaning it can be played without making an expensive purchase. Simply head to the payphone in Little Seoul to answer a call from Avi Schwartzman. You may have noticed white autonomous taxis from the KnoWay company driving around the city — and even in the most remote areas. These are exactly what we’ll be fighting against alongside the hacker, aiming to stop the FIB’s plans to create a surveillance network that threatens the criminal underworld. This storyline consists of five missions, including a finale with an elite challenge. There’s also a new Career Progress category and 18 Platinum Awards, which cover not only the KnoWay Out series, but the entire DLC as a whole.

After successfully teaming up with Avi, a solo mission with Michael becomes available, strongly hinting at a continuation. It seems the grand finale is still ahead.

The developers are already looking ahead. The future appears exceptionally bright with the introduction of the Mission Editor — a tool that allows players to create their own missions, invent stories, use characters, and fine-tune a wide range of parameters. To help players get to grips with it, five tutorial missions have been added. Their icons are scattered across the map and can also be found via Pause Menu → Online → Jobs → Rockstar Created → Mission Editor Tutorials.

This is a truly groundbreaking addition for the community, though Rockstar Games reminds players that rules exist — and breaking them will initially result in temporary bans. Even so, missions featuring P. Diddy, Charlie Kirk, and Bonnie Blue have already become hits.

Vehicles

The massive vehicle roster has been expanded with five new models.

• Grotti GT750 — GTA$ 1,247,000
• Pfister X-treme — GTA$ 2,885,000
• Progen Luiva — GTA$ 2,697,500
• Vapid FMJ MK V (HSW Perfomance Upgrade available) — GTA$ 2,965,000
• Übermacht Sentinel XS4 — GTA$ 1,429,000

Missile Lock-on Jammer can now be installed on nearly 50 additional vehicles (19 of which have returned to sale), including some unarmed aircraft.

Misc

• Four new actions have been added (activated via the Interaction Menu), perfect for role-playing as police.
• A new Random Event — Getaway Driver. Deliver the robber to their safehouse to receive a cut or kill them and take everything.
• The Packie McReary rescue quest has been removed (probably the buggiest mission in the entire game). He is now unlocked as a Casino Heist gunman for everyone, and the related Platinum Award has been granted automatically.
• Gustavo Mota’s cut has been reduced to 8%.
• Profession job (Taxi Driver, Pizza Delivery etc.) icons are now colored cyan, making this category stand out on the map and radar.