Parachute races aren’t a thing most players care about in Grand Theft Auto Online, but Rockstar decided to run an event this week featuring these races and the community has reacted with a giant “Huh?”
There are many things to do in Grand Theft Auto Online. One thing that most players never do anymore in 2020 are the parachute races. When the game first launched back in 2013 they weren’t very popular and today, they are a forgotten part of the large game. So it was very odd when Rockstar Games announced this week’s GTA Online events and listed triple rewards on parachute races. Some in the community were upset. Many thought it was silly. And some were just confused.
Parachute races are short events that challenge four or more players with jumping out of a plane and using parachutes to quickly descend through floating targets arranged at various heights and spots in the sky. At the very end players try to land on a large dartboard, with players who hit closer to the center bullseye earning more points. These events rarely take longer than five minutes, which is nice, because they aren’t much fun and tend to be joked about by the community. Well, when people even remember they exist.
I’ve professionally written about this game for years and played it multiple times every month since it was released. And yet in two different articles listing lesser-known or forgotten things players can partake in I forgot to mention parachute races. I wasn’t even trying to imply they are totally terrible, I just forgot. The only time I play these races these days is if a friend decides to create a playlist of events and adds one of these randomly to the middle of the playlist to troll everyone.
So with this added context, I hope y’all understand how funny and downright weird it is that Rockstar is centering a weekly GTA Online event around these pointless races. When I saw some folks on Reddit joking about it I didn’t take it seriously, I figured it was just people being trolls. Nope! Rockstar has in fact decided to turn on triple rewards for parachute races.
This isn’t the first time Rockstar has done this either. Almost exactly a year ago to the day, Rockstar activated triple rewards on parachute races.
The community quickly reacted with memes, as you would expect. Others seemed frustrated or amused. Some were even relieved. “...it’s time to take a week off and catch up on other things, I think.” Jenkiiii posted on a GTA Forums thread about the event. With a recent influx of new players, some veterans hoped new players might get better at parachuting and quit failing important sections in heists.
My favorite reaction by far and the reaction that sums this whole event up, are the few players posting on Reddit and elsewhere with a simple question: What is parachuting?
It’s a mode that nobody will care about next week. But for now, if you want some easy cash and a quick way to earn a bunch of RP, load up GTA Online, join some parachute races and enjoy a chill descent to the ground.