Grand Theft Auto Online launched on 1 October 2013, two weeks after the release of Grand Theft Auto V.[124] Many players reported that they had difficulties connecting to the game's servers and the Social Club web service, and others further reported that the game would freeze while loading early missions.[125][126] Rockstar released a technical patch on 5 October in an effort to resolve the issues.[127] The microtransaction system, which allows players to purchase game content using real money, was also suspended as a fail-safe.[128] Problems persisted the second week following launch, and some players reported their player-character progress as having disappeared.[129] Another technical patch was released on 10 October combating the issues, and players experiencing issues were told not to recreate their multiplayer avatars.[130] As recompense for the technical issues, Rockstar offered a stimulus of GTA $500,000 (in-game currency) to the accounts of all players connected to Online since launch.[131] Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar's parent company, stated that by February 2014, 70 percent of players with Internet access had played Grand Theft Auto Online, and that the game's microtransactions system was the largest contributor to the company's digital revenue since the launch of Grand Theft Auto Online.[132]
Because of the widespread technical issues present at launch, many reviewers bemoaned their experience with Grand Theft Auto Online.[120][123] Chris Carter of Destructoid criticised the "messy launch" and felt that Rockstar should have delayed it.[118] IGN's MacDonald considered her initial play sessions in Grand Theft Auto Online "disastrous",[133] and Liam Martin of Digital Spy reported glitches including loss of his character data. While generally praising the scope of the experience, he considered Grand Theft Auto Online underwhelming as beholden to pre-launch anticipation let down by its technical issues.[122] The character creation system was panned by critics, who felt that the system only produced unattractive avatars.[118][122][123][133] MacDonald of IGN noted an "addictive rhythm" to character progression and was enthusiastic about some of the job missions, although most eventually became monotonous.[133] GameSpot's Petit agreed with MacDonald, writing that "early on, your mission options are dominated by bland last team standing deathmatches".[120] However, reviewers generally recognised the open-ended exploration and dynamic content as the strength of Grand Theft Auto Online.[120][122][133] Jon Denton of VideoGamer.com was particularly enthusiastic, and wrote that the "endlessness" of the gameplay made up for the technical issues.[121]
