GTA Online’s free mode has, until now, been a space to listlessly drive about the game’s gorgeous world, contemplating doing some crime. Maybe you should be robbing a bank, you might think. No, you think, I won’t rob a bank, because an ostentatiously dressed arsehole has just blown me up for absolutely no reason.
As of next week, though, there’ll be a little more to do outside of the instanced missions and playlists. On September 15, Rockstar will introduce Freemode Events. Here’s the blurb from the Rockstar Newswire:
“Freemode Events in Grand Theft Auto Online are a new advancement in open world gameplay, giving players access to a range of seamlessly integrated games and challenges in GTA Online’s Freemode. Taking full advantage of the latest generation of consoles and PC hardware, there are no menus, lobbies, or load times – just an open Freemode session filled with Friends, Crewmates, rivals, and randoms where spontaneous and chaotic new games and challenges will appear.
“One of these events can kick off at any given moment while in Freemode, and you can customize your session to decide exactly which ones will happen – so you can play as much or as little of this new content as you like. With countless variations on each Freemode Event, there are tons of unique new experiences, each offering new opportunities for reaping GTA$ and RP in GTA Online.”
One of the events Rockstar has detailed is King of the Castle—a turf war that requires you to climb and claim a piece of land, and then defend it from other players. “Form fragile alliances and work together in modes like Hunt the Beast,” Rockstar continues, “where one volunteer is temporarily transformed into a faster, stronger, beastly character who must escape relentless pursuers.” Stunt challenges form another part of the Freemode Event roster—letting players compete for, among other things, the longest wheelie or the most near misses.
