Money Fronts Update was announced on June 17 by Rockstar Games for GTA Online. It is the criminal empire they have been waiting to hear about! Accordingly, players will finally be able to buy some celebrated and famous local businesses all over Los Santos and turn them into a syndicate money laundering operation, because really-how else would a virtual crime lord clean his dirty cash with some dignity?
The official launch Tweet by Rockstar shows a very slick graphic that perhaps shows some storefronts that will tick all the boxes and become fronts for all your illicit shenanigans. Very classic mob movie vibes-goodfellas meets Grand Theft Auto kind. The reply section is bursting with excitement, doubt, and every usual, chaotic GTA community repartee.
Incoherently, some still want content for Red Dead Redemption 2: “Can we pls get some content for RDR2? We didn’t even finish Jessica LeClerk’s story,” tweeted Ghost_Wolf_00. But we all know. Rockstar knows where their bread gets buttered. GTA Online keeps printing money now both in-game and in real life, so do plan for Rockstar to squeeze every last drop off this cash cow.
Cynically, bondzthegreat comments, “Rockstar delaying GTA 6 just to put out more DLC for GTA 5.” Ouch. And yet… kinda true? There’s already specific request from Xdrxly, “can we get a 4 door charger cop car.” Never change, GTA community.
More interestingly, the glimmer of what this Money Fronts system could be remains. In the past, business mechanics in GTA Online have gone from good (Nightclub warehouse system) to bearable (Post Op vans, I am looking at you). If Rockstar pulls this off, this could well be the single most immersive criminal enterprise gameplay yet. Imagine running your legitimate laundromats, car washes (shout-out to CaPn_bOnEs for that one), and other storefronts whilst your backstreet moves product.
Release date being June 17 gives Rockstar about a month of hype and teasing details, if any. Smart money is against Drip-drip of teaser hits on their Newswire in the coming weeks, possibly culminating with a proper trailer showing the new mechanics.
Needless to say, some aren’t all warm smiles: MetalRuthless tweeted bluntly: “just retire this game ffs.” Seeing how GTA 6 is likely going to be years away (in spite of all the rumors), Rockstar won’t be letting their bird with the golden eggs rest anytime soon. Admittedly, their ability to churn out these massive updates for a 2013 game in itself is quite something, even though it has done their other projects much harm.
One thing is sure; the criminal world of Los Santos would be getting a whole lot more complicated quicker than one can say money. Time to polish these skills in Jersey money laundering while picking which legit business will suit best as a front for these nasty deeds, and remember to pay those taxes to the IRS (or just some part of it, given that it is a virtual setting)-even a fake crime lord has to keep up appearances.
