GTA Online: Major Vehicle Purge Shakes Up Gameplay

Rockstar has made a bold move by reducing the number of available cars and motorcycles in Grand Theft Auto Online, with more than a quarter of the vehicles now removed from the game. This decision, which has caused a stir among fans, was made as part of the San Andreas Mercenaries update that was released on June 13. In addition to introducing new content, the update also promised to bring several quality-of-life improvements to GTA Online, as stated in the June 2 announcement. Rockstar revealed some of these changes two days later, including the plan to remove "lesser-used" vehicles from in-game shops to simplify the browsing experience. While some fans expressed concern at the time, it wasn't until the release of San Andreas Mercenaries that the full extent of the changes became clear and the backlash began to grow.

Rockstar recently removed 194 vehicles from the GTA Online shops with the release of San Andreas Mercenaries. This amounts to approximately 27% of the game's total vehicle pool, which previously peaked at 722 vehicles according to third-party tracker GTA Base. Despite Rockstar's claim that the culling was based on a lack of usage, some popular vehicles such as the Comet SR and Cheburek were also removed. While some players are skeptical of Rockstar's assertion that the move was intended to improve the in-game shopping experience, the developer has confirmed that the removed vehicles will eventually return via event showrooms and remain available as gambling rewards from The Lucky Wheel. Nevertheless, some fans see the removal of these vehicles from GTA Online shops as a potential indication of more aggressive monetization tactics in the future, and a possible sign that GTA 6 will feature real money transactions.

With the recent removal of certain vehicles from the game, players may notice a shift in the market for the best cars to sell in GTA Online. While these vehicles can still be purchased from other players, the scarcity created by their removal could potentially drive up prices. It's worth noting that the used car market is only available on PC and current-generation consoles, and can be accessed through the Los Santos Car Meet building on Popular Street in East Los Santos. Keep in mind that Grand Theft Auto Online is available on a variety of platforms, including PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

Source: GTA Forums, GTA Base