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GTA VI launches on

GTA Online: Los Santos Drug Wars key art with an armed Dax, Luchadora in a wrestling mask, Nervous Ron and the Fooliganz among trucks and motorbikes.

GTA Online: Los Santos Drug Wars lands December 13 with community-requested fixes

Rockstar announces Los Santos Drug Wars, GTA Online’s two-part winter update, and details the quality-of-life improvements players asked for.

This article is from December 6, 2022. Some details may have changed since then.

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GTA Online’s winter 2022 update was revealed in two steps. On December 6, Rockstar shared a long list of improvements and a first hint at the story; on December 8 it confirmed the name and date: Los Santos Drug Wars, arriving December 13 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC.

What Los Santos Drug Wars is about

  • It’s a two-part story, with the first chapter centred on Blaine County.
  • A familiar GTA V face returns — Nervous Ron — alongside a band of out-of-state misfits aiming to take over the Los Santos psychedelics trade.
  • You’ll face an unlikely alliance of wealthy hippies and trigger-happy bikers.
  • A new business arrives: cooking hallucinogens in labs or in a huge rolling chemistry set.
  • Rockstar also promised new vehicles, world events, Contact Missions and holiday surprises.
The Liquor Ace storefront in Sandy Shores at dusk, with several characters and a yellow car parked outside.

Player-requested improvements

Many come straight from the GTA Online feedback site:

  • iFruit contacts: choose which ones to show or hide from the Interaction Menu.
  • Terrorbyte: launch business sell missions in any session type, including invite-only.
  • Agatha’s Casino Story Missions become playable solo (they used to need at least two players).
  • Ray-traced reflections on PS5 and Xbox Series X in Fidelity Mode.
  • Purchased vehicles reach your garage faster, the Mechanic can deliver bicycles, and some weaponised vehicles can be used in races (weapons disabled outside GTA Races).
  • On PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, full Hao’s Special Works access without finishing his intro race.
A GTA Online character in a suit and sunglasses lounging on a sofa, checking the contacts list on his phone.

Economy changes

  • Vehicle Cargo sales in public sessions now pay a High Demand Bonus, like every other business.
  • Smuggler’s sell mission payouts are tripled permanently.
  • Every Shark Card now gives 20–25% more GTA$.

The Heists Challenge reward

The community collectively scored GTA$4 trillion in the Heists Challenge, and as a thank-you Rockstar announced the Declasse Tahoma Coupe, a retro muscle car everyone could claim free for a few days in December.

Black Declasse Tahoma Coupe with a supercharger on the hood parked by the water at sunset.

Our take

The fact that half the announcement was quality-of-life fixes says a lot: after the move to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, Rockstar was listening to the community more closely. Tripling Smuggler’s payouts in particular revived a business many had abandoned.

What happened next

Part one arrived on December 13 — see our article on the Los Santos Drug Wars launch. Part two, The Last Dose, was announced in March 2023.