GTA Online 2?: Why Rockstar Must 'Full Reset' the GTA 6 Multiplayer Experience

Grand Theft Auto Online is one of the greatest successes in entertainment history. It is also an absolute mess.

Launched in 2013, it has morphed from a simple open-world lobby into a sprawling, chaotic, and almost impenetrable behemoth. After 12 years of content updates, its economy is shattered, its lobbies are ruled by griefers on flying rocket bikes, and new players face a laughably impossible climb.

It is a game buckling under the weight of its own success.

With Grand Theft Auto 6 officially set for a May 2026 release, the single most important question for its long-term success isn't about the story or the map—it's about what Rockstar does with its multiplayer.

Rockstar Games

The answer is simple, even if it’s painful for some: They must burn it to the ground and start over.

A "full reset" isn't just a good idea; it's the only way to save the GTA multiplayer experience.

The Case for a Clean Slate

For anyone who has tried to start GTA Online fresh in the last five years, the problem is immediately obvious. You spawn in with a pistol and a street car, while the rest of the lobby consists of billionaire CEOs, invisible jet griefers, and players calling in orbital strikes from a high-tech submarine.

The game has become a hostile, unwelcoming world for new players, and even veterans are growing tired of the bloat. Here’s why a continuation of the current model would be a disaster.

1. The Economy is Irreparably Broken There is no "economy" in GTA Online anymore. There is only absurd, hyper-inflated fantasy. A new t-shirt can cost $50,000, while a sports car costs $3 million. This was the result of "content creep"—a decade of Rockstar needing to one-up its previous update, topped off by years of rampant money glitches.

There is no way to balance this. GTA 6 cannot launch a balanced world where one player has a $500 pistol and another player ports over $500 billion in shark-card-funded assets. A reset is the only way to restore a sense of progression and make money feel valuable again.

2. The "Oppressor Mk II" Problem The game's sandbox is broken. Vehicles like the Oppressor Mk II (the infamous flying rocket bike) completely destroyed the "grounded" feel of Grand Theft Auto. Lobbies are no longer about car chases and street-level crime; they are about futuristic aerial warfare.

This arms race has made the game exhausting. A reset would allow Rockstar to re-establish the rules of the world, focusing on the cars, boats, and planes that feel appropriate to GTA's DNA, not a Saints Row knock-off.

3. The Thrill of the 'Come Up' The most magical time in GTA Online's history was its first year. Players were desperately saving up for their first high-end apartment. The "Adder" supercar was a mythic, $1 million status symbol. Robbing a convenience store for $1,500 actually mattered.

That feeling is long gone. We have been criminal masterminds for 12 years. A new game offers the chance to feel that progression again—to start as a nobody in Vice City and truly earn our way to the top. Porting over a multi-billion-dollar empire would make the entire GTA 6 multiplayer journey pointless from day one.

What a "Full Reset" Should Look Like

A reset doesn't mean GTA V players get nothing. Rockstar can (and should) reward veteran loyalty without breaking the new game:

• Exclusive "Legacy" Rewards: Give returning players unique cars, outfits, and weapon skins unavailable to anyone else.

• A "Veteran's" Starting Bonus: A modest cash injection (e.g., $1-2 million) would be enough to give returning players a head start on their first apartment or car, without letting them buy a military bunker on day one.

• Character Creation: Allow players to import the look of their GTA Online character, but nothing else.

Grand Theft Auto 6 is a new game, a new city, and a new story. It deserves a new online experience to match. Letting players drag a decade's worth of military-grade baggage into the fresh, neon-soaked streets of Leonida would be a catastrophic mistake—one that would sacrifice the game's long-term health for a short-term player appeasement.