Rockstar thanks GTA Online player for identifying a way to cut loading times

Grand Theft Auto Online loading times on PC will be reduced thanks to a fan-made solution picked up by developer Rockstar.

As reported by PC Gamer, Github user t0st claimed they’d found a way to reduce the game’s load times by as much as 70 percent.

He suggested a slowdown was being caused by “a single thread CPU bottleneck while starting up GTA Online” and even went as far as releasing an unofficial fix.

Rockstar has since thanked t0st for his efforts and said it will be releasing an official update designed to reduce load times based on his initial discovery.

“After a thorough investigation, we can confirm that player t0st did, in fact, reveal an aspect of the game code related to load times for the PC version of GTA Online that could be improved,” a Rockstar spokesperson said.

“As a result of these investigations, we have made some changes that will be implemented in a forthcoming title update.”

UPDATE 16/03/21: Rockstar has awarded t0st $10,000 for his efforts through its Bug Bounty program, which is normally reserved for users who uncover security or privacy issues in the studio’s online games.

UPDATE 2: Rockstar has released an official title update featuring “improvements to PC loading times” and “general network connectivity improvements” for all platforms.

Further reading

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ORIGINAL STORY CONTINUES: Rockstar is set to bring an “expanded and enhanced” version of GTA V to next-gen consoles in the second half of 2021, including a standalone version of Grand Theft Auto Online which will be free for PS5 owners for the first three months.

The studio recently said Grand Theft Auto Online’s future updates will cater to single-player gameplay as well as co-op activities, in line with The Cayo Perico Heist.

Released in December 2020, The Cayo Perico Heist is a multi-layered robbery set on an exotic island location which can be completed solo or with up to three other players.