Modder T0st recently found out that the insane GTA Online loading times can be fixed, and Rockstar now acknowledges the fix. With update 1.53, the American company implements the loading times fix, along with a nice ‘thank you’ to the modder. Additionally, T0st received $10,000 for the fix.
GTA Online’s improved loading times
Grand Theft Auto V’s multiplayer mode, GTA Online, has notoriously long loading times, which frustrates many fans. One by the name of T0st got fed up with waiting every time he wanted to commit elaborate heists. He looked for a way to fix the loading times. With success, as T0st cut waiting time by 70%, based on his own tests. Rockstar Games later confirmed to PC Gamer that the fix is indeed legit.
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. As a result of these investigations, we have made some changes that will be implemented in a forthcoming title update.
As a reward, the modder got $10,000 as part of the Bug Bounty program. Apparently, it’s the first time someone got a monetary reward through that program for fixing a technical issue. Thus far, bug hunters were all compensated for fixing privacy related issues and general bugs.
Rockstar implemented the loading times fix for GTA Online on PC, with the message “thanks to t0st for his contributions around this part of today’s title update”. It’s unclear how a single frustrated gamer could fix what a multi-billion dollar company couldn’t for the better part of a decade. But that’s a discussion for another time!