As confirmed last week, players will be able to spend real-world money to buy in-game currency, or GTA$. You need this cash – earned in single- and multiplayer through mission progress, optional objectives, and the stock market – to buy weapons and upgrades. In a Rockstar Newswire post, the publisher said this won’t unbalance the game.
“The option of purchasable GTA$ should not disrupt the playing field – and there are a few mechanics in place to help ensure that. All players still have to rank up with Reputation Points (RP) in order to get access to purchase high-end items,” Rockstar wrote.
“No one can begin GTA Online and simply spend a lot of money out of the gate to get a leg up. You will have to earn your stripes and play to unlock access to the aspirational clothes, guns and other items. Please also remember that in GTA Online, hustling to afford the finer things by earning GTA$ doing robberies, stick-ups, winning races and other profitable activities is a fun gameplay experience rather than ever being a ‘grind’.”
The events of GTA Online take place in the months preceding the story of GTA 5. Once it unlocks today, you’ll be able to play just by selecting the bottom slot on your character wheel. The exact time of the unlock is unknown as it depends on a title update.
When creating a character, players choose gender, parents, genetic history and lifestyle variables to generate stats and appearance. once you start playing you can access manual character customisation options by purchasing clothes, haircuts and accessories.
GTA Online launches at 7AM via for the Xbox and PS3, via a small patch.