GTA Online's QABeta File Updated


Could a new GTA Online DLC be on the brink of release? One of the telling signs that we're about to get some new content has been spotted by a few eagle-eyed fans.

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In the past, every time a content update was released for Rockstar's massively lucrative Online component for the "qabeta" file was updated. This was tracked by using the SteamDB website, which displays information regarding what changes to the master-file occur for any game in Steam. This means that if the developers change the game in some way, like with DLC for example, it would show up on this site.

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The last time the qabeta file was updated was right before the release of the Lowriders: Custom Classics DLC in March, when this change was also noticed by some players and news of it spread.

"But wait, wasn't that the qabeta2 file?" - I hear you ask. Yes, indeed it was, how commendable that you noticed that. You might also notice that according to the SteamDB site, the "qabeta" file without the 2 is updated pretty often.

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However there are a few unusual things regarding this occurrence to simply push it under the rug. Even this frequent updating of qabeta is something of an anomaly, as it didn't occur on a daily basis until very recently. In the same vein, the roles of "qabeta" and "qabeta2" have been switched in the past.

Knowing how Rockstar generally dislikes having upcoming content leaked would make it entirely plausible that they occasionally interchange the roles of qabeta files to circumvent using SteamDB as a GTA Online DLC early warning system.

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Granted, the chances of that being the case are low - however, there is more to speak in the favor of this scenario. Tomorrow is the last day of the Combat Week Event, meaning that Rockstar already have something lined up for Friday. In the past few weeks, they've been running GTA Online event-weeks back-to-back, sometimes adding DLC like the In and Out Adversary Mode.

Considering that they've announced several upcoming updates recently which are slated to launch anytime between now and the summer, it wouldn't be a stretch to think that the first of those updates will drop on Friday, or sometime early next week (since they do have a tendency to stagger event launch and DLC launch).

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It is doubtful that we'll see the followup to Executives and Other Criminals this soon, as no doubt the black market mechanic will take some time to implement. Plus, Executives was announced ahead of launch and hyped up a bit, which we assume will be the case here as well.

It is possible that we'll see the overhauled Creator make its debut on Friday. By the wording of the announcement post, it seemed like Rockstar has been working on it for some time. It is a likelier candidate for a same-day announcement and release. GTA Online's Content Creator was recently tweaked preventing the stacking of objects, much to the ire of the players - something this DLC will correct.

Which GTA Online DLC that we know of do you hope to see sooner?

 
Aron Gerencser
In the site's early beginnings, Aron was responsible for the bulk of the news posts that you'd find on GTA BOOM each and every day. He loves getting involved with the community and is an avid fan of all things Rockstar Games. Since then, Aron has become an editor across all the content that is posted on GTA BOOM. His journey with the franchise began with GTA 2 back when it was new (all the way back in 1999), and he was a gamer even before then. Graduating summa cum laude from Università degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi with a BA in Media Production, Aron has been a game journalist since 2014. When not writing, editing or playing, Aron is building models which you can find on Instagram and Facebook.