When Does it Snow in GTA Online?

Putting aside a laundry list of gripes about driving to and from work in a blizzard, snow is a wonderful, magical thing. Just a bit of powder can turn a normal cityscape into a winter wonderland, rife with opportunities for fun and merriment. This, I imagine, is why people are wondering: when is GTA Online getting snow?

‘Tis the Season

Every year, without fail, Rockstar activates the Festive Surprise in Grand Theft Auto Online. When the Festive Surprise is running, the city is covered in a blanket of snow, the citizens don winter coats and festively ugly sweaters, and a swath of Christmas crimes become available to players. It’s a lovely time, well worth looking forward to, but we’re already in the week of Christmas, so one can’t help but wonder what the holdup is.

When Does it Snow in GTA Online?

Unlike some online games, Rockstar keeps the Festive Surprise as more of a limited-time affair. For the last seven years or so, the Festive Surprise isn’t typically activated until Christmas Eve proper, December 24th. Once it is activated and the snow has fallen, it’ll usually remain active until the end of the first week of the new year. 

For example, during the Festive Surprise in 2014, the snow was present from December 24th to 26th, then it disappeared for a few days before returning from December 31st to January 2nd. The following year, it ran nonstop from December 30th to January 5th.

So while the exact timing of the snow differs from year to year, it’s a safe bet that we’ll see some of the white stuff on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and/or New Year’s Eve, and a couple of days afterward. Get your toboggan ready and pop in your mouthguard, ‘cause it’ll be time to hit those hills running.