The Seasonal Calendar, in One View
GTA Online follows the real-world calendar. Every year, the same seasons come back around: Halloween takes over October, the Festive Surprise brings snow and gifts in late December, Valentine's colours mid-February, Lunar New Year lands in January or February, and Independence Day stock returns around the start of July. Smaller celebrations, like St Patrick's Day, fill the gaps.
Each season works the same way. Themed clothing, vehicles and modes switch on for a limited window, bonuses attach to fitting activities, and when the window closes the unsold stock and special modes leave again — until the same season returns next year. Anything you bought or unlocked in the meantime is yours permanently.
This guide explains how that rotation is put together and what each season actually brings, so you can plan around the calendar instead of being surprised by it.
Key Takeaways
- Seasonal events are delivered through the normal Thursday weekly updates; each season is a themed layer on top of the usual bonuses and discounts.
- Festive Surprise (late December) is the biggest season: map-wide snow, snowball fights, festive store stock and a login gift package on Christmas Day.
- Halloween runs through October with its own modes and collectibles; our dedicated Halloween guide carries the full detail.
- Independence Day, Valentine's and Lunar New Year each re-release their classic content — themed vehicles, weapons and clothing — alongside bonuses on matching modes.
- Seasonal collectible hunts, like the Festive Snowmen and the Lunar New Year Yuanbao, only exist while their season is live; rewards for finishing them are permanent.
1. How the Rotation Works
Seasons are not separate downloads. They arrive through the same weekly update cycle as everything else — the Thursday changeover described in our guide to when the GTA Online weekly reset happens — with Rockstar's Newswire post for the week announcing what has switched on, what it pays and when it ends.
A typical season runs for several event weeks rather than a single week. Halloween stretches across most of October, and the Festive period usually runs from mid-to-late December into the first days of January. Shorter celebrations, such as Valentine's or Independence Day, may occupy one or two event weeks around their date.
Two mechanics define every season. First, returning content: each season re-releases the classic items created for it in past years, which is why long-time players talk about "the Halloween stock" or "the Independence Day items" as fixed collections that grow slowly. Second, expiry: when the season ends, its shop stock, special modes and collectibles are switched off until next year, while everything already earned stays in your account.
2. Winter: Festive Surprise and the Snow
The Festive season is the oldest and the biggest. It began with the Holiday Gifts update on 24 December 2013, returned as the Festive Surprise update in 2014, and has run every December since. Its signature is the weather: for several days around Christmas, and usually again around New Year, the whole of Los Santos and Blaine County is covered in snow — the only time the map's handling, look and mood change completely.
Snow brings snowball fights with it; you can scoop up to nine snowballs and carry them as a weapon. The stores fill with festive clothing, masks and pyjamas, decorations appear in properties and public spaces, and seasonal collectible hunts run during the window — destroying all 25 hidden Snowmen is the Festive entry in our GTA Online collectibles locations guide.
Christmas Day itself carries the tradition players plan around: logging in on 25 December brings a gift package from Rockstar. The contents vary by year — past packages have combined a festive mask and pyjamas with a Fireworks Launcher, weapons, ammunition, snacks and armour, and some years have added a free vehicle for everyone who logged in that day. What never changes is the rule: log in on the day, and the gifts are yours.
3. Autumn: Halloween
October belongs to Halloween, and it is the deepest season after Festive. The month runs in themed event weeks with returning horror-flavoured modes, seasonal clothing and masks in the stores, and map collectibles that only exist during the event.
The season's headline content is its undead survival modes, which get their own treatment in our guide to GTA Online zombies, and the whole month — its collectible hunts, its returning adversary modes and how its final week usually escalates — is covered in depth by our dedicated GTA Online Halloween events guide. If you read one seasonal article closely, make it that one; this overview deliberately leaves Halloween's detail to it.
For calendar purposes, what matters is the shape: Halloween content rolls out across October rather than on a single day, the best bonuses usually land in the final week, and everything seasonal leaves the game again in early November.
4. Summer: Independence Day
The Independence Day season arrives around the start of July, built around the American holiday on 4 July. It is a re-release season in the purest form: the content comes from the Independence Day Special, one of the game's earliest themed updates, and it returns to the stores and websites for the event window.
The returning stock is distinctive — the Liberator monster truck and the Sovereign motorcycle, the Musket and the Firework Launcher among the weapons, and a range of star-spangled clothing, masks and vehicle horns. Event weeks around the holiday attach bonuses to fitting activities and discount parts of the returning range.
Because the items are only sold during the window, Independence Day works like a yearly restock: miss the Liberator one summer and the calendar simply brings it back the next. Prices and the exact bonus mix change from year to year, so check the Newswire post for the current event week before planning a purchase.
5. The Early Year: Valentine's and Lunar New Year
February carries two smaller seasons that often overlap. Valentine's brings back the content of the Valentine's Day Massacre Special — the Gusenberg Sweeper, the Albany Roosevelt and its Valor variant, and period clothing — with bonuses typically attached to the game's romance-flavoured adversary modes, such as Till Death Do Us Part and Shotgun Wedding.
Lunar New Year follows the real festival, landing in late January or February. Its signature activity is a collectible hunt: 36 Yuanbao hidden across the map, each paying GTA$888 and 888 RP, added for the Year of the Snake celebrations in January 2025 and returned for the following Lunar New Year with a GTA$88,888 bonus for collecting the full set. A themed outfit has also rewarded a complete set, which makes the hunt one of the best-value seasonal activities on the calendar.
The smaller dates are filling in around them. St Patrick's Day gained its own collectible hunt in March 2026, built around hidden clovers, and Rockstar also marks the game's own anniversaries — the tenth anniversary of GTA V in September 2023 brought login outfits and themed weapon finishes. The calendar is still being written, one small season at a time.
6. Getting the Most From Each Season
The planning rules are simple. Buy limited items while their season is live if you want them, because the same stock will not be sold again until the season returns. Log in on the specific gift days — Christmas Day above all — because those packages are never repeated. And run the seasonal collectibles early in the window, since the hunts are switched off at the end and partial progress earns nothing extra later.
None of it requires spending real money. Seasonal bonuses ride on activities you can already play, the headline gifts are free for logging in, and the collectible hunts pay in-game cash. The seasons are best understood as the game's heartbeat rather than a shop window — a rhythm that has been running since the first snowfall of December 2013, early in the history traced by our GTA Online updates in order list.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the main seasonal events in GTA Online?
The big four are Halloween in October, Festive Surprise in December, Valentine's in February and Independence Day around the start of July. Lunar New Year lands in January or February, and smaller celebrations such as St Patrick's Day fill other gaps in the year.
When does it snow in GTA Online?
Snow covers the map during the Festive period, for several days around Christmas and usually again around New Year. It is an event weather effect, switched on and off by Rockstar, and it is the only time Los Santos gets true winter weather.
How long does a seasonal event last?
It varies by season. Halloween runs across most of October and the Festive period usually spans mid-to-late December into early January. Shorter seasons, like Valentine's and Independence Day, typically occupy one or two weekly event cycles around their date.
Do seasonal items disappear after the event?
The unsold stock, special modes and collectibles switch off when the season ends. Anything you bought or unlocked during the window stays in your account permanently — your wardrobe, garage and rewards are never taken away.
What do you get for logging in on Christmas Day?
A gift package from Rockstar, with contents that change by year. Past packages have combined festive clothing and a mask with a Fireworks Launcher, weapons, ammunition, snacks and armour, and some years have included a free vehicle for that day's players.
Can you get last year's seasonal items?
Usually, yes — each season re-releases its classic content when it returns, so items from earlier years come back on sale. A handful of one-time login rewards from specific celebrations are the exception and do not return.
What are the Yuanbao in GTA Online?
Yuanbao are the Lunar New Year collectibles: 36 golden ornaments hidden across the map during the event. Each pays GTA$888 and 888 RP, and collecting all 36 has paid a GTA$88,888 bonus and unlocked a themed outfit. They only exist while the Lunar New Year event is live.
Are seasonal events free to take part in?
Yes. Seasonal content arrives in free updates, the login gifts cost nothing, and the bonuses attach to activities anyone can play. Optional purchases are in-game items sold for GTA$, not real-money exclusives.
When is the GTA Online Halloween event?
Halloween content runs through October each year, rolling out across the month's event weeks and usually peaking in the final week before it is switched off in early November.
How do you know when a season starts?
Rockstar announces each event week on the Newswire, and the changeover happens with the Thursday weekly update. The in-game phone and the pause-menu event banners also flag the current season's bonuses and end dates.
Wrapping Up
GTA Online's seasons turn a static map into a calendar: snow and gifts in December, horror through October, fireworks and returning classics in July, and a pair of smaller celebrations to open the year. Learn the shape of that calendar — buy during the window, log in on the gift days, finish the hunts before they vanish — and you will never be caught out by an event ending again.
