Skip to main content

GTA Online’s Heists are live and here’s how to get started

gta online heists released 21
Image used with permission by copyright holder
GTA Online‘s cooperative heists are finally upon us, added in a free update that is now available on all platforms, according to Rockstar Games. The update adds five heists, each of which can be completed any number of times, along with new Adversary modes, Freemode activities, and Daily Objectives. Here are some basic pointers for a successful heist, culled from a recent Rockstar post.

Every heist starts with a leader. In order to run one of these, you need to be at least rank 12 and own a high-end apartment. After meeting the basic requirements, heist master Lester contacts you about setting up a special room for planning jobs. The leader is responsible for paying the substantial up-front costs required for each heist, but also has complete control over who joins, what roles they play, and what their final cut of the spoils is. Heist progress is only saved for the leader, so make sure it’s someone you trust.

Each part of the multi-phase heists requires players to fill different roles, which vary from heist to heist. Sometimes there might need to be two lookouts and a getaway driver while someone meets with a shady contact. Later on, two players may need to cover the ground from an attack chopper while a ground team infiltrates a facility. Roles have wildly different requirements, so it’s absolutely key that the leader choose the right person for each job and make clear their responsibilities. Headsets are almost essential for coordinating everyone as the mission unfolds (if just so you can dramatically say “I’m in.”)

Community S03E21 I'm IN

You have to rely on your own arsenal of weapons and vehicles to complete a given job, so be sure you have or can afford the right tools for the job before committing to a gig. That could entail everything from silencers on your guns for stealthy infiltrations or four-door armored vehicles if you expect an explosive chase. New vehicles and gear are available as rewards unlocked for completing heists, to help you do them even better.

Heists involve major rewards for the complex requirements to complete them. There are a number of special bonuses that you can aim for to make those rewards even greater. Each of these completion bonuses can be completed only once per player:

  • First Time: The first time you complete each heist’s finale nets you a bonus reward over the usual payout.
  • All in Order: Complete all five heists and their setups in order to earn a bonus $1 million.
  • Loyalty: Complete all heists and setups with the same team for another bonus $1 million.
  • Criminal Mastermind: Complete all heists in order, with the same team, and without losing any lives for a massive $10 million bonus.

Progress on each award can be checked in game under the Stats > Awards menu.

The new Adversary Modes included in the update are unlocked by completing heists, adding new ways to compete with your fellow players in horrific, human hunts, for instance. We detailed three of these here.

Anticipation for GTA Online‘s co-op heists has built to a fever pitch over the last year of delays. Do they live up to the hype? Let us know in the comments as you dive in!

Editors' Recommendations

Will Fulton
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…
Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer: when it’s coming and how to watch
A man drives away in a boat with stolen money in Grand Theft Auto 5 art.

Rockstar has confirmed exactly when it will drop the first trailer for the next mainline Grand Theft Auto game. It has been over a decade since the launch of Grand Theft Auto V, so excitement and hype surrounding the next GTA installment is at an all-time high. The release of Grand Theft Auto 6 Trailer 1 will be the biggest game reveal of 2023, so you don't want to miss it. Here's everything we know about when it'll air and how you can watch it.

When will Rockstar post GTA 6 Trailer 1?
Rockstar has confirmed that it will post "Trailer 1" for the next GTA game at 9 a.m. ET/6 a.m. PT on December 5. Make sure you don't oversleep Tuesday morning if you want to see the trailer right when it drops.
How to watch GTA 6 Trailer 1
Watch Trailer 1: Tuesday, December 5 at 9AM ET

Read more
We need to see these 3 things in Grand Theft Auto 6’s first trailer
gta 6 first trailer speculation v

It’s almost time. After over a decade of waiting, we’ll finally get our first look at the next Grand Theft Auto game sometime this December. When it arrives, the Grand Theft Auto 6 reveal will be one of the biggest video game industry announcements of the year, regardless of what Rockstar Games shows. Despite that, there are specific things that the GTA 6 reveal trailer needs to tell us to live up to its hype.

Although Rockstar has said little about the project before now, GTA 6 might be one of the most anticipated games ever, and it’s following up one of the most successful individual video games of all time. Speculation on where this game will be set, what it will be about, and what innovations it will bring to the medium have been rampant for years. I know this because I’ve played a part in this hype cycle myself -- and this very article is adding to it right now.

Read more
Grand Theft Auto 6 is getting its first trailer sooner than you think
Trevor firing an assault rifle in GTA 5.

After a decades-long wait, Grand Theft Auto 6 is finally making its formal debut. Rockstar announced that the first trailer for the anticipated open-world game will drop in early December.

It's no stretch to call Grand Theft Auto 6 the most anticipated video game of all time. It's been 10 years since the mega-successful Grand Theft Auto 5 launched and fans have been itching for news on a sequel since. That impatience boiled over last year when Rockstar suffered a major security breach that saw early footage from the game leaking. Now the studio is finally ready to reveal the game on its own terms.

Read more