The rumored new content stems from a mid-November leak of Grand Theft Auto 5 source code. The leak was relatively small in scale, and the Grand Theft Auto Online-related portion of it thinner yet. Still, there were some interesting details in what was leaked. For example, references to the single-player character Dax, an acid lab, and Juggalos. Leakers predicted that these were references to upcoming patch content for Grand Theft Auto Online, though that’s not certain.
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What’s especially interesting from the leak is a reference to “DOWNTOWN_CAB.” Initially, this reference raised some eyebrows but could have been a reference to a range of different possible additions to Grand Theft Auto Online. What’s made many reconsider is a Rockstar survey later sent to Grand Theft Auto Online players asking about potential GTA+ subscription content. One of the possible additions mentioned was “Instant Fast Travel” around Grand Theft Auto Online’s map.
The connection that Grand Theft Auto Online players have made is that a feature could be added allowing players to use a taxi service to fast travel. Grand Theft Auto Online currently has a taxi service, but no fast travel option. In Grand Theft Auto 5’s single-player campaign, however, fast travel through taxis is enabled. Players can select their destination and then pay extra to skip directly there. It would make perfect sense to expand this feature into Grand Theft Auto Online for players who are casually moving across the map, without forcing them to go into Passive mode.
Fast travel has been a topic of some discussion within the Grand Theft Auto Online community in the past. Many players have looked at fast travel as a potential negative addition to the game, as moving around the map manually is part of its charm. But as more content has been added to Grand Theft Auto Online, its made more sense for features to be added allowing players to travel instantly as necessary. Rockstar has provided a number of such features, though they’re all limited in nature.
It’s entirely unclear if Rockstar truly plans to add a taxi service fast travel system in a Grand Theft Auto Online winter update or beyond. The leaks are interesting, but not wholly reliable. Rockstar could change its mind, or the leaks could simply be incorrect. Nevertheless, fast travel is certainly to be on the minds of Grand Theft Auto Online players all the more going into 2023.
Grand Theft Auto Online is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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