Summary
- NPCs in GTA Online have surprisingly complex behavior, but that hasn't stopped players fromfinding creative ways to exploit said behavior for laughs.
- For example, a player recently discovered a funny method to "kidnap" NPCs in GTA Online using a van, leading to humorous situations.
- While the abduction doesn't last long due to physics oddities, players have found it entertaining and wonder about future antics in GTA 6's online offering.
A Grand Theft Auto Online player has figured out a fairly straightforward method to abduct NPCs, as shown in a recent clip. Although Grand Theft Auto Online allows players to engage in some serious criminal activity, the massively popular online juggernaut also has its own set of physics-based quirks that gamers often exploit to pull off hilarious antics.
Specifically, playing around with NPCs in GTA Online can prove to be quite fun. The scripts powering the NPCs received a lot of praise for their surprisingly intelligent and detailed implementation back when Grand Theft Auto 5 first launched 11 years ago. They were so impressive for their time that some even used GTA 5's NPCs as a benchmark for Cyberpunk 2077 when the latter was released back in 2020. After more than a decade, however, GTA Online players have somewhat figured out the limits to the intelligence of the NPCs, and have created many amusing situations by breaching them.
Most recently, Reddit user 90sGroceryList discovered a funny way to kidnap an NPC using a van in GTA Online. In a clip posted to the GTA Online subreddit, the player can be seen opening all the doors of the van via the Player Interaction Menu (long-press touchpad on PlayStation controllers, view button on Xbox controllers, or M key on PC) and reversing straight into a nearby NPC. The NPC was thrown into the open back of the van, at which point the player closed its doors, thereby abducting the unfortunate computer-controlled character. The player then opened the van's back doors again to show that the NPC was indeed trapped.
GTA Online Clip Shows an NPC Being Successfully Kidnapped, But Not For Long
Granted, the NPC died almost instantly due to GTA 5's aforementioned physics oddities, but this kidnapping method would still be entertaining to pull off for players who find themselves bored in GTA Online and could do with a laugh. Many commenters also found the clip hilarious, with some wondering what would happen if an actual player was "kidnapped" instead of an NPC and whether they could be kept captive in the back of a van. Sadly, those who tried it out on other GTA Online players reported that the abductee would either instantly die like the NPC did, or just teleport to the top of the van.
Even though the abduction itself doesn't last long, one can only wonder how much funnier the 2020 green and purple alien wars in GTA Online would've been if players knew about this method. With Grand Theft Auto 6 slated for release in fall 2025, it'll be interesting to see how much of a generational leap NPC intelligence will take with the upcoming title.
Grand Theft Auto Online
- Released
- October 1, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Rockstar North
- Publisher(s)
- Rockstar Games
- Franchise
- Grand Theft Auto
- Number of Players
- 1-8 (Online Co-Op); 1-30 (Multiplayer)
- Platform(s)
- PS5, PS4, PS3, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action
