GTA Online has an almost overwhelming wealth of content, though most of it has to do with criminal activity aimed at accruing wealth. If you’re in the mood for a change of pace, this list has some great new activities to try. Although GTA Online has been out for years, it’s pretty much impossible to do everything Los Santos has to offer. GTA Online has so many easter eggs, secrets, and extra minigames players will still be discovering for years to come.
Whether you’ve been playing GTA since launch or for just a few months, there will definitely be something for you on this list. Rockstar Games is known for its attention to detail, and this reputation shines through even in this online multiplayer component. If you know about all the activities in this list, then you’re definitely a Grand Theft Auto veteran.
Updated December 26, 2022 by Hilton Webster: Grand Theft Auto doesn’t ever seem to lose its hype. With GTA 6 leaks, raytracing and higher framerates in GTA 5, and almost ten years worth of updates for GTA Online, it won’t be slowing down anytime soon. With all that content though comes a fair few secrets too.
21 Calling Friends With Your Phone
Technology has always been a major part of the GTA series. From infamous RC vehicle segments to the urban myths of aliens and jetpacks, the most common motif to showcase the advance of tech between each game has been your handy mobile phone. CJ had his big block of a phone, Niko had a more modern (for the time) keypad that could call companions and so on. In GTA 5 though, the phone is a world of its own.
In fact, it has even more functionality in GTA Online. Sure, it can call in-game characters and set up missions, take pictures and all that, but you can ring your actual friends playing the game too. All you have to do is find them in the contacts lists of your phone and dial them up. Just like that, and you’ll have a private voice call between the two of you set-up.
20 Splitting The Cash During Heists
Money has always been a major aspect of each of Rockstar’s games, but in GTA 5 it became the entire point. Heists became the selling point, with you gathering and training your crew throughout the game, all building towards the final cut. It was incredible enough with in-game characters, but doing it with your own friends? It’s chaos, but so much more alive than anything scripted could be.
Though they weren’t in the original release of Online, they eventually came along, with more still being added with updates. Core to this is that the heist leader has to set up the heist with their own money, no refunds. That means they can split just how it’s divided out, too. Be prepared for more than a few fights if you’re a little too greedy with the cash.
19 Run Your Own Nightclub
GTA Online likes to spend a lot of its time trying to invest you in the world, making you feel like this is a place you’re living your life in, earning a real living, and just thriving. There are a whole bunch of ways to do that, and maybe buying up your own nightclub might be one of the more fun ways.
Nightclubs have always been a major part of GTA, but here you can run it yourself and try to make it the most popular club around. You can hire guards, DJs, and dancers. You choose the name and location and make it look however you want - just make sure you manage it properly or your reputation will sink down the drain.
18 Become A Member Of A Biker Gang
Was the Lost and Damned your favorite GTA experience? Were you sad to see Trevor reduce Johnny’s head to sludge? Well then, you’ll be delighted to hear that GTA Online not only lets you be a biker, but run your very own motorcycle club, clubhouse, mechanic, and all!
Owning your own MC clubhouse comes with responsibilities of its own, from recruiting new members to fighting off rival MCs formed by other players. It also comes with plenty of benefits, such as extra storage for your bikes and a custom mechanic to get your vehicle in roaring condition.
17 Hit The Casinos
Added back in the Diamond and Casino Resort update, it adds, like you might expect, a casino. It comes with a host of new characters, clothes, cars, and plenty more, like a master penthouse for you to show off your absurd wealth. In an interesting twist though, the casino does in fact let you gamble, which maybe isn’t the best showcase that games don’t have gambling in them.
GTA has had plenty of card games in the past, but the various forms of poker and blackjack here at the casino let you risk it all against more than just the AI, but real players, making that hard-earned (or bought) money a genuine risk. But that’s what it feels like to be a high roller.
16 Hire Your Own Personal Mechanic
A bunch of GTA Online has always been centered around the idea of you making a mark on the world. You’re more than just another person in this world, but a unique individual who’s left a mark on it. Maybe you’ve bought that swanky new high-rise and packed it full of custom cars. Well, the same can be done with your guns.
The base game always had some degree of weapon customization, but it got expanded much more as time went on. Now, you can hire your very own staff to work in your weapons workshop, building new guns, upgrading others, and putting your own unique spin on them. Now when you get a kill, you can do it with the assurance people know how rich you are.
15 Explore Ocean In A Submarine
Just like the single-player, there are several places you can find and steal a submarine in GTA Online. If you haven’t sufficiently explored the oceans of GTA, then you might as well do it in a submarine. Using the vehicle is great for either exploring underwater or escaping any players or police.
Once you get the submarine and go underwater, you’re pretty much untouchable. Even if you’ve accumulated five stars, there’s no way for the police to get you. Though maybe the police shouldn’t be your biggest worry with all the dangers that lurk in the sea.
14 Spectate Using The TV On Your Property
If you feel like spying on some players, you can tune into your TV and watch a live feed of the player. It serves as a spectator mode, only with a more diegetic twist. It is especially comedic if you hire some mercenaries or muggers to attack another player.
You might miss out on the action if you simply hire the NPCs and leave, but if you hang around the other player might grow suspicious and attack you. Stay in the safety of your home and watch the action unfold from your living room.
13 Highlight GTA Online Players
It’s common for players to come and kill you or blow up your vehicles for no reason, a frustrating tactic known as griefing. To try and even the odds, you can go into the contacts app on your phone, scroll over any player in the lobby, click on them, and choose the “highlight” option. This basically puts a live beacon on the target, making it easy to either track or avoid them. Whatever your motive, it’s extremely helpful for keeping track of players.
12 Visit A Replica Of The Playboy Mansion
You may have seen a beautiful house in Los Santos called the Richman Mansion. It’s pretty hard to miss.
The Richman Mansion is heavily based off the Playboy Mansion. If you go inside the property at certain times of the day, you can find a variety of people partying and moseying about. You will end up visiting the mansion during several missions in GTA Online. Firstly, Simeon has you stealing a car from its lot. Secondly, it is the location of a mission and epic shootout in The Contract expansion.
11 Get Absolutely Wasted
Convenience stores in GTA Online sell an assortment of snacks and beer. If you go to a convenience store and buy “Pisswasser,” — which is German for pisswater — you can drink beer and get your character drunk. Drink too much your character will actually pass out, waking up in a different location
Location: It is bordered by Americano Way to the south, West Eclipse Boulevard to the east and Picture Perfect Drive to the north in Richman, Los Santos, next to the golf course.
While this isn’t something you should often do, it’s fun to try. Fans will recognize the mechanic of getting drunk as an age-old GTA tradition. Even Vice City has a mission where you drive a character to the hospital while under the effects of intoxication.
10 Go For A Civilian Joyride
GTA Online sadly lacks a taxi service or fast travel. If you feel like making a taxi service, there’s a pretty hilarious way you can do that by playing with NPCs’ AI. Get a friend to steal a car and then go into the back seat. The NPC will then pull your friend out of the driver’s seat and take back control of the vehicle.
The NPC will ignore you in the back seat and continue to drive around normally. It’s interesting to see how the NPCs react to players’ actions. Even though the game world is gorgeous and detailed, it would not feel as immersive if the AI was not so advanced.
9 Play Golf With Friends
While most popular American sports involve violence, golf is a mostly pacifistic pastime. If you’re feeling rather relaxed and peaceful, you can join up to three other friends and play each other in friendly games of golf.
The great thing about golf in GTA Online is that nobody gets shot, stabbed, robbed, or beaten to death. You can still settle things off the green if you get annoyed at losing, though.
8 Watch A Movie
You can actually get together with friends and watch short films at the Los Santos Movie Theater, something that makes GTA Online feel more like a life simulator than an open-world action game.
While watching movies is something you can do outside the game, Rockstar does make some pretty hilarious short films you can’t find at your local cinema. They also hide references to their other games. If you haven’t gone to the movies in GTA Online, we recommend grabbing your buddies, making some popcorn, and enjoying some timeless flicks.
7 Hit The BMX Parks
Driving occupies a huge amount of your time in GTA Online. After all, it’s hard to get around the game without a fast car. Sometimes, simple things are the most fun things to do GTA Online, such as riding a bike.
Grabbing a mountain/BMX bike and ripping up the many parks that GTA Online has to offer is fun, especially since bikes control well. Even though the bunny hop is the best thing you have in your move set, you can do some pretty neat tricks with some practice and ingenuity. Different bike parks offer different terrains such as half-pipes, quarter-pipes, and pools. Definitely give them a visit if you’re an avid GTA Online biker.
6 Go To Flight School And Learn To Fly
Most players are probably too busy stealing planes to actually learn how to fly them. Go to Los Santos International, and you’ll see a little plane icon, that’s the flight school. Most don’t play games to go to school, but it is a rewarding endeavour.
Getting a gold medal in all the missions will net you a nice cash bonus and your flying skill will shoot up. Be warned, though, these missions get really tough, so they aren’t for the faint of heart. Flying was absent from GTA 4, but planes and a flight school were a big part of San Andreas.
5 Play Tennis With A Friend
Rockstar implemented tennis into GTA Online pretty well. You can even play it with friends. It’s only appropriate for the developer to include Tennis, considering the first game on the RAGE Engine was Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis.
Some harmless games of tennis serve as a nice change of pace. Don’t expect something as in-depth as a full-length Tennis game, but it is a perfectly adequate minigame. Hit the courts with one other friend and see who comes out on top. It might surprise you how fun it is.
4 Rob Convenience Stores
There are 19 convenience stores scattered throughout Los Santos. You have the ability to hold up each one and even earn a trophy for doing all of them. Robbing them nets a paltry cash reward, but you should do it for the thrill of the chase. Besides, early in your GTA Online career you might be strapped for cash and the money earned through these might help a lot. Heists and bigger missions eventually start paying out significantly more once you have the money and experience to access them.
3 Create Custom Races
Experienced GTA Online players have likely done all the competitive modes Rockstar has created. If you are the creative type, consider putting some work into the GTA Online Content Creator where you can make completely unique deathmatches, races, and capture missions.
The GTA Online Content Creator is constantly getting updated with GTA’s newest DLC and the possibilities are endless. GTA Online players can then share and download different custom races/deathmatches onto the Rockstar community pages. Get your work noticed or check out trending creations.
2 Attend Car Meets
GTA Online has an incredible amount of cars and the customization options allow you to inject plenty of your personality into the vehicles. Between sports cars, lowriders, motorcycles, and trucks, the car variety is staggering.
Just like in real life, car enthusiasts in GTA Online will organize huge car meetups on servers where players can bring and show off their favorite cars. It’s one of the most peaceful and fun things to do in GTA Online. Just don’t rock up in one of these insanely overpowered cars and ruin everyone else’s fun.
