Best Post-Game Activities In GTA 5

To say Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto 5 was a success would be an understatement. It remains one of the most successful entertainment products in history. This is thanks in part to how much replayability the game has. From its hilarious and satirical story to the massive online multiplayer, GTA 5 is still going strong after all these years. Rockstar always delivers when it comes to content, especially in their open-world games.

The world of Los Santos is one of the most beautifully realized game settings in recent memory. There’s so much to do and discover that it’s almost overwhelming. After you’ve beaten the game, you’ll immediately want to keep playing. Here is a list of things you can do once you finish the misadventures of Franklin, Michael, and Trevor.

Updated on October 26, 2024, by Jason Wojnar: Grand Theft Auto 5 doesn’t let you do everything you could possibly do in the real world, but the gameplay variety still outdoes a lot of its competitors. After you beat the game, there is still a whole sandbox of possibilities in Los Santos. This list already gives you a lot to chew on, but we decided to come back and give you a couple more things to do after reaching the credits. Grand Theft Auto 6 feels simultaneous right around the corner and eons away, so now is the perfect time to get some extra mileage out of the 2013 open-world crime epic.

23

Do A Law-Abiding-Citizen Run

Follow The Rules

What could be more fun than breaking all the rules, mowing down NPCs, and causing havoc with every step? Perhaps doing the opposite and following all the rules. The self-imposed challenge of following the rules while in the open-world environment forces you to look at Los Santos in a whole new way.

You might even start noticing details about the world and the way people behave that you never saw before. Not being able to steal also makes you more carefully consider the game’s economy.

It obviously is not possible to do this on most missions since they involve gunfights and chases with the authorities.

22

Getting The Platinum Trophy/All The Achievements

Get That Gamer Score Higher

• Trophies on PlayStation, achievements on Xbox
• Each release of the game has its own set of trophies and achievements

Many of the entries on this list contribute to this, but trophy or achievement hunting is a great way to kill some time in Los Santos. Any of the ones still unfinished by the time you do whatever else there is to do in the city will likely be fairly simple to finish off.

Some bemoan the idea of achievements as artificially inflating replay value. If they are fun to go for, then what’s the harm? A good trophy and achievement list also encourages players to explore parts of the game they might otherwise have ignored.

21

See All The Endings

Replaying The Last Missions Two More Times

• Three different endings depending on a choice in the final missions
• The choice you make first has a permanent effect on the post-game

Grand Theft Auto 5 has three separate endings that boil down to one specific choice in the final mission. It’s not as in-depth as other open-world games, especially more recent ones.

To see the other two outcomes, all you have to do is replay the mission and make a different choice. We won’t spoil the endings, but they have a pretty big impact on the world and future going forward, along with significantly affecting the three protagonists’ relationships with each other.

20

Play With The Editor

Make Your Own Clips

Playing into the game’s sandbox nature, GTA 5 allows you to record gameplay at the push of a button. Once this footage is saved, you can edit it with various tools to make the coolest clip possible.

You can even manipulate the camera as long as the footage is captured in the third-person mode, meaning you can make the clip as cinematic as possible. GTA 5 was pretty ahead of the curb with this, considering this came years before TikTok gave every phone user an extensive editor in the palm of their hand.

The Rockstar Editor is not available on all versions. It is no longer available on PS4 and Xbox One. You can still edit to your heart’s content on PS5, Xbox Series S/X, and PC

19

Beat The Game In First-Person Mode

A New Perspective At The Push Of A Button

One of the best additions to newer releases of the game from the PS4, Xbox One, and onward is the ability to play the game from the first-person perspective. If you haven’t tried it yet, it is an entirely new way to go through the story.

Set pieces in the story missions feel radically different when you are directly looking through the eyes of the protagonists. Gunplay has also changed, and it is slightly more challenging when you can’t fully monitor your surroundings with a 3D camera.

18

Give GTA Online A Try

The Game That Keeps On Giving

• GTA Online is no longer available on PS3 and Xbox 360
• There is no crossplay

Let’s get the obvious one out of the way. Once you beat the main story, the first thing you will want to do is jump into GTA Online. From racing and stunts to server events and heists, there are many modes to experience.

However, heists take the crown. Even though it took two years for them to be added to GTA Online, they were worth the wait. And if that isn’t enough, many familiar faces return for new missions. You’ve probably wondered what Lamar and Franklin have been up to. A decade later, and its community is still going strong.

17

Create Your Own Game Modes

Make Your Own Fun

In addition to the mountain of content available in the numerous updates, some game modes are open to user-generated games. You can flex your creativity by creating your own races, deathmatch maps, and stunt courses and letting other players use them.

Don’t expect something on the level of Roblox, Dreams, or the Fortnite Creator, but its limited scope makes the tools easier to use. You can create something and have it ready to play quickly. The simplicity gives it its own unique appeal over more complex options.

Considering the evolution of level editors and player-created content in the years since GTA Online’s initial launch, we can only imagine what Rockstar is cooking up for GTA 6’s online mode.

16

Buy Property And Make Money

Make Good Investments

Throughout GTA 5, there are 16 purchasable businesses and seven garages. Whether you want more space to park your favorite cars or experience a new side of Los Santos, there’s a property out there waiting for you. And if you care about making money, many of these businesses will give you a return on your investment.

For example, Auto Impound gives you $500 for every car you tow. The Car Scrapyard, on the other hand, pays $150 for every car scrapped. Some businesses may require you to complete a mission questline before you can make a profit.

15

Learn Something New

Go To School In A Video Game

There are dozens of opportunities to better yourself in San Andreas — well, intellectually rather than morally — and you should take advantage of them when you can. Luckily, the things you can learn and experience in GTA 5 can be rewarding.

You can learn how to fly at the Flight School and learn how to pull off incredible stunts. After that, you can skydive off buildings, parachute around Mount Chiliad, and live like a daredevil. If that isn’t enough, check out a film in Vinewood Boulevard. There’s always something new to discover, so take a break from your routine.

14

Become An Assassin And Make Profit

The Assassin Missions Manipulate The Market

Throughout the story, you may have noticed that Lester has a tendency to ask you to assassinate important figures. The Hotel Assassination is the first time you’ll be asked to help him, but there are four more missions.

If you save these missions for the post-game, you’ll be making millions of dollars in profit on the stock market. These are also the only missions that affect stock prices. Assassinating targets will make some stocks shoot up in value, so do your research first!

13

Try Out New Hobbies

Various Minigames

• Spots including golf, tennis, darts, and triathlons
• There are also vehicle-based activities like races

If a more active and stimulating retirement seems more appealing, there are many places where you can stimulate your physical and competitive sides.

Those who love sports can spend their time golfing, playing tennis, shooting darts, or participating in triathlons. Those who prefer the high-speed of driving can take to the offroad races, street races, Seashark races, or go parachuting. There’s a ton to do to keep you active and entertained.

Some of these minigames can even be played with friends in GTA Online.

12

Find Collectibles

It’s Not An Open-World Game Without Collectibles

GTA always finds a way to include a collect-a-thon, so if you enjoy that aspect of the game, get ready to look for 13 collections scattered across the map. And if you want to play the secret last mission, you’ll need to complete two of these collections.

Head to the northern docks of San Andreas to start finding submarine pieces, keep your eyes peeled for the 50 spaceship parts that will unlock a new vehicle, look closely for scrap pieces of paper to figure out who murdered Leonora Johnson, and much, much more. There’s a ton to find and collect.

11

Pull Off Some Stick Stunts

Become A Stunt Person

In open-world games, it’s always a blast to mindlessly mess around and explore. It’s even more fun to test out the game’s physics, and GTA 5’s can be incredibly unusual. With all those dirt bikes and sports cars you’ve acquired, why not go and test out their true potential?

There are even multiple Stunt Jumps to find throughout the map, which will contribute to your 100 percent progression. Still, you can find many other spots to pull off some sick moves. You haven’t fully experienced GTA 5 until you’ve taken a motorcycle down Mount Chiliad.

10

Find All Strangers And Freaks

Seemingly Random Missions That Pop Up

• These missions pop up in the world outside of missions
• There are 58 in total

While GTA 5 does have a great story, many of the game’s most memorable moments come from the various Strangers and Freaks missions. Want to join a religious cult that has way too many membership fees? What about helping a cult find some new members? What about fighting aliens during a bad trip?

You get to experience all these hilarious incidents by finding the Strangers and Freaks throughout the map. Each of the three main characters has their specific side missions to complete. Getting 100 percent completion will require you to finish 20 missions.

9

Replay Missions To Get Gold Medals

Be Perfect

One of GTA 5’s most tedious trophies/achievements is Solid Gold, Baby. You need to get 70 gold medals from most missions within the game. There are 69 main story missions and 58 Strangers and Freaks missions. The upside is that you won’t have to get a gold medal for every story mission.

In order to replay, go to the Game tab in the pause menu. All completed missions and their medals will be listed. You’ll be able to retry over and over again. Luckily, most of GTA 5’s missions are over the top and fun, so the grind won’t be too bad.

8

Replay Heists

There Are Multiple Ways To Do Them

• Each heist has several ways of completing them

Now you’ll most likely be replaying the heists if you’re trying to get gold medals on them. However, another reason to replay these memorable missions is to see how different scenarios turn out. Did you want to go in guns blazing? Or did you want to take a more tactical approach?

You can play these over again to see if your original plans were, in fact, the most efficient way to victory. Sadly, replaying these won’t give you money back in your main game, nor will they affect the story. Still, it’s always fun to test out other options.

7

Discover All The Secrets And Easter Eggs

Shoutouts To The Past

The city of Los Santos is a massive open-world sandbox to sink your teeth into. Rockstar has always been praised for its obsessive level of detail, sometimes even criticized. GTA 5 is no different. There are tons of secrets and Easter eggs to uncover.

Some of these include aliens, Bigfoot, and ghosts! Many of these aren’t surface-level finds, so you’ll need to do some extra digging to discover all these secrets. If you get lost, use guides to help you figure out where you went wrong. It can be exhausting trying to figure out where the last letter scrap is.

6

Use Cheat Codes And Go Nuts

Give Yourself More Power In The World

The Grand Theft Auto series has always embraced the idea of cheat codes. Everyone remembers how amazing it was to summon a tank in San Andreas. GTA 5 brought back button codes from previous entries. There are some ridiculous and hilarious cheat codes.

Sometimes it’s just fun to have some good old-fashioned chaos in the open world. These cheat codes can essentially make you a god in the game. They include making you invincible, turning off gravity, and even allowing you to change the weather on a whim. However, cheat codes disable all trophies/achievements, so you should create a separate save file.

5

Try GTA RP

Play A Role

Is GTA Online a little too hectic for you? Maybe you want to travel around San Andreas under different circumstances. Roleplay servers might be what you’re looking for. RP servers offer a more grounded experience without having to worry about excessive griefing and trolling.

However, your experience will vary. Some servers are much more serious about conduct and can feel more tedious than playing GTA Online itself. Spend some time looking around for a community that suits your interests. You don’t need to lock yourself into the first server you login to. Getting started is just a download away.

4

Give GTA A New Look

Make The Game Even Prettier

In 2013, GTA 5 had top-of-the-line graphics, but that’s changed over the years. Despite occasional updates each console generation, GTA 5 has seen better years. With ray-tracing becoming more prevalent, you should consider downloading visual mods to upgrade your copy of GTA.

Most computers may not be able to handle the most extreme lighting mods, but new textures and model upgrades are always nice to have. Some conversion mods quite honestly make GTA 5 feel like a brand-new game. Like any mods, make sure you only use them in single-player and have them removed while playing in GTA Online.