GTA Online's next big update brings the va-va-vroom to Los Santos
Rockstar has released a new trailer and the details of GTA Online's next major update, Los Santos Tuners, which will arrive for all players on July 20. The main addition is a "gigantic" new social space called the LS Car Meet, where players can show-off their cars to one another, mod vehicles alongside each other, pick up missions from shady contacts, and of course get involved in a tonne of racing.
The club has a 'good vibes only' policy, which means that weapons are disabled so it's "a great place to skip the attention of the law and any small-time chumps."
Players can pay GTA$50K to become an LS Car Meet member , unlocking a new reputation system among fellow petrol-heads and granting access to the Test Track, an area where players can "drive, drift, and race vehicles freely, without interference from pesky pedestrians or the law." You can also test a rotating selection of dream vehicles here.
Membership also unlocks all of the club's bespoke shops, which include a merch shop, tattoo shop, and the car modding area, where you can mod vehicles in real-time while other players watch. After you've ranked up a bit you'll also be able to customise the meeting space somewhat.
The new race modes are split across the club's Test Track and Los Santos itself. The Test Track seems more about having fun with your mates, offering short head-to-head races, a mode called Scramble where players race to collect 20 checkpoints, and time trials with leaderboards. Up to 30 players can be on the Test Track at one time, but contact is disabled during competition and you can choose to make it private and play solo.
In Los Santos there are the new Street Race Series and Pursuit Series, which are much more about straight-up and full-contact competition. The former tracks are built around Los Santos' more urban areas, full of tight shortcuts and tight corners, whereas the Pursuit series is more open-ended with fewer checkpoints: because in that case, players are competing against each other while also being chased by the police. Which does sound like a brilliant idea for a mode.
Finally, Sprint races are a point-to-point challenge for up to four drivers, and involve racing to a given GTA landmark from the LS car meet, and then back again.
There's a bunch of cars being added, "from imported tuner cars from Annis, Dinka, Übermacht, and more to that straight up Vapid muscle that Americans have come to know and love." 17 vehicles in total will arrive over the summer, with 10 at launch on July 20. There's a bunch of cosmetics and the like included as ever and, if you're interested in those, Rockstar's newswire post has the details.