As GTA Online has expanded over the years with new updates, Rockstar Games has been criticized for making the in-game economy unrealistic. The prices of new vehicles kept going up with each update. For example, scooters needed for the new pizza delivery jobs now cost a staggering $195,000, with a discounted price of $146,250. These prices are far higher than you would expect for a scooter in real life.
To be fair, GTA Online is just a game that asks players to suspend their disbelief. However, for those who play with a role-playing style, Reddit user JoskiLani found a way to make the in-game prices seem more realistic compared to real-world money.
In a recent post on the r/gtaonline subreddit, JoskiLani suggested using an exchange rate where one real dollar equals 100 GTA dollars. This GTA Online pricing trick helps players better understand and relate to the in-game prices.
GTA Online Prices Slash 99%
JoskiLani used prices from a clothing store in GTA Online to illustrate their point. For instance, a basic white T-shirt costs $535 in the game. Using JoskiLani’s exchange rate of 100 GTA dollars per real dollar, this T-shirt would cost $5.35, which is close to its real-life price. This method also helps make the high prices of vehicles, like the pizza delivery scooters, seem more reasonable.
Nonetheless, this GTA Online pricing trick doesn’t work for very expensive items either. To cite an example, the $4 million Hydra jet in the game would only cost $40,000 using this exchange rate, which is far from the actual price of a real-world fighter jet.
It's important to note that this method only changes how players perceive in-game prices; they still need to earn money based on GTA Online’s economy. Fortunately, the recent Bottom Dollar Bounties summer update introduces new ways to make money, such as bounty hunting missions, pizza delivery jobs, and improved payouts for dispatch missions. These additions help players boost their in-game cash flow.