GTA Online Fans Furious As 180+ Cars Are Removed, Some Now Paywalled

It’s an exciting time for Grand Theft Auto Online fans! Today, June 13, is update day. And while the new free expansion, San Andreas Mercenaries , adds new missions, other assorted content, and much-needed quality-of-life changes, it also removes over 180 cars and motorcycles from in-game stores. This massive removal of content has not gone over well with fans, especially as several of the cut cars have been placed behind a GTA + paywall .

Since launching in October 2013, GTA Online has continued to be updated, expanded, and ported to more consoles — like PS4 and PS5 — as players keep returning to the online open-world crime simulator. And the latest update, San Andreas Mercenaries , is yet another big injection of new content and smart changes. For example, no more mashing the X button to sprint ! It turns out, however, that this update has likely removed more stuff than it added.

Fans discovered that at least 189 vehicles have been removed from in-game stores, making them nearly impossible to purchase and use if you don’t already happen to have them unlocked. In a June 8 pre-update news post on the company’s official website, Rockstar technically did tell players it would be removing some cars. However, that warning was vague and didn’t specify how many cars would be removed, or which specific ones.

Many assumed it might be a dozen or so really old clunkers that nobody cares about in 2023. That wasn’t the case. After the update went live on June 13, players began cataloging all the cars that had been removed from in-game stores and websites.

After crunching the numbers, the list sits at 189 vehicles, some of which don’t seem like “lesser-used” vehicles based on player reactions to the long list of cut cars . Rockstar explained on Tuesday that it removed these “lesser-used” vehicles from in-game shops to “streamline the shopping experience. ” It also promised that these vehicles will “occasionally be made available in other ways” citing the prize wheel at the in-game casino as one option.

Making matters worse is that Rockstar’s recently announced “ Vinewood Car Club ,” a new perk for paying GTA + subscribers, features some of these now-removed cars. Specifically, the RE-7B and Stirling GT can now only be bought by GTA + subscribers . This essentially means these vehicles that were once free to earn have been placed behind a $US6 ($8)-a-month paywall.

In addition, GTA + is currently only available for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S players and not PC or legacy console GTA Online players. Kotaku has contacted Rockstar about the removed cars. Even if only a few cut cars get stashed behind a GTA + subscription fee, it’s still extremely frustrating to see so many vehicles effectively get deleted from GTA Online .

Yes, if you own one of these cars you can still drive it around and enjoy it. But for new players or folks who didn’t own everything — that is to say, most players — this mass removal sucks. These cut cars, once easily purchasable via in-game websites using free-to-earn currency, are now only returning “occasionally” at Rockstar’s discretion.

This likely means that, sadly, many players will never get a chance to own and operate most of these 180+ automobiles, especially players who aren’t GTA + subscribers. For players looking to buy some of these cars, your best bet now is to use the Los Santos Car Meet and try to buy them from other players who are selling them . But that’s not nearly as easy as it once was, and likely won’t be good enough for players upset with Rockstar’s big change.

Here’s the full list of cars and motorcycles Rockstar has removed from GTA Online : Cars/Trucks Motorcycles/scooters/ATVs:.