Red Dead Redemption 2: 8 Things It Must Fix From GTA Online

8. The Inflation Of Virtual Currency

Red Dead Redemption 2
Rockstar

Make no mistake: GTA Online undoubtedly improved as the years went by. The addition of heists proved to be a massive success (when they eventually arrived), and gradually, with each update, a community began to develop. New cars, clothing and gameplay features all helped GTA keep moving forward, but with the need to strive for bigger and better things Rockstar lost sight of what made those initial updates so successful - their accessibility.

Unfortunately, from 2015 onwards, GTA Online's economy inflated on an exponential scale. In order for players to access the new content, most of which became predicated on a 'high society' theme, they either had to grind for hours doing heists, or grind for hours completing the same sequence of missions included in the base game. The easier option was to buy a 'Shark Card' using real life currency, and though these updates were all technically free, the only players who had a chance of reaping their benefits either had the time to grind, or didn't mind forking out money to get an instant injection of cash.

Eventually, those able to fully enjoy Online's DLC became a very exclusive club, with Rockstar having effectively put up a paywall in front of their 'free' updates.

Needless to say, Red Dead Online needs to change this. Ditch the high life themes, the gold plated merch and get on with making a compelling online world players can return to without having to worry about grinding out for the next update.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.