Ten years of content and one bad first purchase

1. 1

   Do not buy anything immediately

   The most common beginner's mistake is buying an expensive car or flat in the first hours. Almost everything cheap turns out to be a dead end within days. It is better to leave roughly the first half-million untouched.

2. 2

   Complete the introductory career

   The game guides you through the first missions. They are not profitable, but they unlock access to activities that are and teach controls that differ from single-player.

3. 3

   Play in a closed session

   In a public session, anyone with a rocket launcher can bother you. Most profitable activities work in an invite-only session where you are alone — at the same speed.

4. 4

   Follow weekly events

   Each week Rockstar doubles the earnings from a different activity. Playing what is currently doubled earns twice as much in the same time. It is the largest multiplier in the game and costs nothing.

5. 5

   Only then buy your first business

   It only makes sense to buy something that earns passively once you have a reserve of around one million. Until then, you earn through active work.

Most beginners play in a public session because the game puts them there automatically. It is the worst choice for earning money or playing in peace: anyone can destroy goods you have carried halfway across the map and gets nothing for doing it.

You can switch at any time from the pause menu under Online. Your progress, money and property do not change — a session only determines who shares the world with you.

Order matters more than the exact choice. Almost every business is worthwhile when you buy it only once you can also afford its upgrades — and almost none is worthwhile if it drains your account to zero.

1. 1

   Nothing (for the first few hours)

   Complete the introductory missions and buy only ammunition and health supplies. You will need in two days the money you spend now.

2. 2

   Access to a solo heist

   Your first major purchase should unlock the activity that earns the most on its own. It pays for itself after a few runs and gives you the income that funds everything else.

3. 3

   A business with its upgrades

   Never buy the business without them. Without production upgrades it earns so little that repayment takes years — the most common way beginners stall their progress.

4. 4

   A second passive income source

   Only now does it make sense to add something that earns while you are doing something else. Before this point, it would merely sit idle.

5. 5

   Anything you want for fun

   Cars, aircraft and clothes. None earns any money — which is why they belong here, not at the start.

This order is based on return on investment, not the only correct way to play. If you play for the cars rather than the numbers, buy a car immediately — just know that it will slow your progress.