GTA Online has made its criminal economy tougher to navigate, with Rockstar reducing several heist payouts while keeping the price of properties, vehicles, and other major purchases high.
The changes arrived alongside the new Kortz Center Heist, which asks players to spend at least GTA$16.2 million on a mansion and Art Studio upgrade before they can host the activity. The heist pays GTA$2 million on its first completion, a return that looks slim next to the entry cost. A separate breakdown of the heist’s high setup cost details how quickly that investment can consume a player’s savings.
Repeat runs are even less appealing. The second Kortz Center completion of the week pays only GTA$400,000, according to the changes outlined in Rockstar’s Title Update 1.73 notes.
The Doomsday Heist shows how steep the comparison is. Players can access Act 1 by buying the cheapest Facility for GTA$1.2 million and paying a GTA$25,000 setup fee. That act previously paid GTA$975,000, with the remaining acts offering more chances to build a bankroll.
The Diamond Casino Heist also took a hit. Its maximum reward fell from GTA$3.3 million to GTA$2.3 million, while the lowest possible payout can now reach just GTA$1.4 million. Rockstar added weekly bonuses across multiple heists, seemingly to push players toward a wider mix of activities, but those bonuses may not satisfy players who prefer repeating one profitable job.
That frustration is easy to understand when the cost of new content remains high. The Grotti Veleno GT costs GTA$3 million, and Rockstar capped most vehicle resale values at GTA$500,000 earlier this year to combat duplication exploits. Players now have fewer ways to recover money while flashy cars and new properties continue to demand millions.
“Prices go up, paychecks go down. I thought a game would let us escape the world a bit,” one player wrote in a Reddit comment. Another player argued that lowering payouts would not persuade people to try more heists, while a separate Reddit response questioned why players should be discouraged from grinding the activity they enjoy.
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Rockstar has not explained what these economy changes mean for GTA Online’s longer-term plans, including how the current mode will fit alongside Grand Theft Auto 6. For now, players are left with a more expensive path to new content and smaller rewards for some of the game’s most familiar money-making activities.
Do these payout changes make the heists feel less worthwhile, or do the weekly bonuses give you enough reason to rotate through them? Share your thoughts in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, and Instagram.
Grand Theft Auto Online
Developed by Rockstar North
Grand Theft Auto Online is an online multiplayer action-adventure game, and is a standalone version of Grand Theft Auto V. Set within the fictional state of San Andreas (based on Southern California), Grand Theft Auto Online allows up to 30 players to explore its open world environment and engage in cooperative or competitive game matches. The game features a range of technical and graphical improvements across the entire experience including performance enhancements for select vehicles in GTA Online, and so much more.
- Genre: Shooter, Adventure
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox 360, Xbox One
- Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
- Release: 2014-11-18
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
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Age Rating:
GRAC 19+ / ESRB M / PEGI 18 / CERO Z
- IGDB Rating: 84.5/100
