Rockstar Games has, in a generous manner, announced a Red Festive Tree Hat in GTA Online for the players who are foam members of their email-list, and for those who are not, the only offering is to log in and play before the year ends. This holiday-based reward is nothing but a small seasonal gift for the game’s largest and most dedicated community. Still, the announcement has sparked complaints from players and demands for the long-awaited Grand Theft Auto VI.
To put it differently, Rockstar has recently surprised us with this little holiday gift—a red tree hat that costs nothing if you subscribe to their email list and log in to Los Santos. Isn’t it adorable? It can be made to look like your criminal avatar during his/her robbery or, I don’t know, while causing trouble in the snow. But, the response? My! It is definitely not a ‘thank you, Santa Rockstar’ kind of response. Actually, it is a sigh of resignation from the players that has been accumulating for almost a decade. The comments on the tweet could serve as the best definition of gamer’s impatience, considering that even the ecstatic holiday spirit has been overshadowed by the demand of ‘where is GTA 6?’
Let’s analyze it more thoroughly. Basically, the offer is: be a part of the Rockstar Propaganda mailing list, log in to GTA Online before New Year’s Eve and your character will get a fashionable red hat that looks like a Christmas tree. It’s a classic way to keep players tied to the service, a tiny virtual gift to keep the servers active during the holidays. Some players don’t mind this at all! In fact, one reply described the offer as ‘smart reward for staying logged in.’ Another voice his expectation for ‘good head protection during those holiday heists.’ That is positive thinking! A little bit of fun.
On the contrary, for every player who relishes the taste of the candy, there are ten who are moaning to the skies about the deafening silence concerning Grand Theft Auto VI. The comments section is, in fact, an informal meeting place for all those who have been making appointments since Obama was president. ‘Post gta 6 niggas,’ one user bluntly said. Another pleaded, ‘Dear Rockstar games its been many years now gta 6 is being made at least show us something another trailer before the new year would be the best gift of Christmas.’ The community’s sentiment is unanimous: ‘We want snow and not a red hat,’ ‘Nothing 😡 like gta 4 port nothing gta 6 news nothing as a present,’ and the very straightforward ‘GIVE US THE KEITORA ALREADY’ (whatever a Keitora is, they seem to want it).
It is not about the hat. It is what the hat represents that matters to a community of gamers that has spent more than a decade playing the same online game. GTA Online is still a major player in the market and is still being updated. However, for many, it is just a temporary workaround. The minimal holiday updates, such as the new hat or the request of another player for a festive sweater (‘Can you release these sweaters?’), are nothing more than band-aids on a wound that only the release of GTA 6 can heal. The gamers are not mincing their words when they express their exasperation with the situation; they are fed up with the constant online updates that conflict with their mods for single-player experience. ‘seriously stop updating the game each 4 days with bullshit, the mods folder is getting railed each time you change some useless bullshit for GTA;O, focus on gta 6 for instance,’ one player voiced his frustration. Ouch!
And then, there’s the humor, the gallows humor of a community that is always waiting. Jokes about the players being kicked out of heists for dressing up as a Yeti or the simple, exhausted ‘Boss I am tired…’ post. The speculations about the release date of GTA 6 have become a game of their own in the replies, with guesses varying from ‘2027 mate trust me,’ ‘anywhere from January to March 2026.’ It’s a whole thing. Even the merry holiday wishes are often followed by #GTAVI, just to keep the hope alive.
So, what is the major point that comes out of this jolly, somewhat chaotic Rockstar news? On the one hand, it is an innocent, no-strings-attached holiday gift for the faithful GTA Online players who are still grinding away in Los Santos. A new hat is always a new hat, and in a place where style and customization are the main characteristics, this can only be a good thing. The Red Festive Tree Hat will definitely be on the heads of many players, a tiny splash of holiday color amid the usual urban sprawl.
But on the other, much louder, hand, it is a stark reminder of the immense pressure from a community that also enjoys games on platforms like PlayStation and Xbox.
