GTA 5’s Nervous Ron returns in GTA Online’s trippy next update

Rockstar have teased a new story update coming to GTA Online next week, which pits players against a ramshackle bunch of rival drug dealers. The Los Santos Drug Wars kick off on December 13th with the first part of the update. the short post on Rockstar’s Newswire blog isn’t exactly awash with details at the moment, but it does give an idea about the kind of dodgy characters and shenanigans you’ll get to encounter, including an angry looking luchador and the return of GTA 5’s Nervous Ron.

Nervous Ron Jakowski is the conspiracy theorist best friend of one of GTA 5’s protagonists, Trevor, and who bears a slight resemblance to real-world gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. Ron’s appeared in GTA Online a few times before, back when the game launched in 2013 and for the Smuggler’s Run update in 2017.

The opening chapter of the two-part Los Santos Drug Wars update teams you up with Ron and his crew in Blaine County, who Rockstar call “out-of-state misfits on a mission to put their stamp on the Los Santos psychedelics trade”. This lot will have to contend with a bizarre partnership of loaded hippies and ruthless bikers to flog their hallucinogens. To cook up all the produce you’ll need, you, Nervous Ron and friends will have access to labs and “your own massive rolling chemistry set”. Going to guess that’s something to do with the trucks or train in the artwork. The update introduces a new business to run, along with more vehicles, missions, and upgrades.

Rockstar set GTA Online players a $2 trillion Heists challenge at the end of November, double the amount of cash stolen in the previous challenge in 2020. Those cheeky GTA-playing scamps somehow managed to utterly smash that target, netting more than $4 trillion over the course of just a week. That’s a heck of a lot of robberies, people. The frankly ridiculous amount of pilfered money scores players a Declasse Tahoma Coupe when GTA Online’s December update arrives, which definitely looks like a car someone who could nick $4 trillion would drive. You can read more about what else is coming in this month’s update here.

GTA 5 is available from Steam and the Epic Games Store for £25/$30/€30, and the game includes access to GTA Online.