GTA 5 Online Adds Diamond Casino Heist Soon, And It Has Some New Wrinkles

A new large-scale casino heist is coming to Grand Theft Auto Online in GTA 5 next week. The Diamond Casino Heist will be available on December 12, and Rockstar promises it's the biggest and most complex crime to hit the game yet, featuring some differences compared to how past GTA Online heists have worked.

The announcement details the massive operation. You'll be working with the Cheng family to infiltrate the casino. Like any good heist, you'll have to plan your entry point from multiple options, security measures will change unpredictably, and once inside circumstances will require quick thinking and responses mid-mission. Unlike other heists, failure isn't necessarily an end-state; if a piece of the plan goes wrong, you may have to improvise to find another way on the fly. But if absolutely everything goes sideways you can always shoot your way out. The bevy of choices promises high replay value for the heist, with scenarios unfolding wildly differently from one another.

To set the stage for your daring heist, you'll need to set up a retro arcade business property as a front operation. In the floor below the arcade, you can practice all the skills a heist needs like hacking keypads and cracking vault doors. You can also store your equipment and getaway vehicles there, and if you're already a business owner, you can add a Master Control Terminal to the staging area. You'll need to own a Penthouse to start the mission, as well.

For now, the Diamond Casino & Resort website features an Easter egg teasing the upcoming event, so you may be able to glean clues from it. Or you can spend some time before the big event rewatching Ocean's 11 and finding the best jazz soundtracks to play while you pull off your daring stunt.