Complete Assessment of Every Business in GTA 5 Story Mode by Old Grumpy Gamers
Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is a massively popular game that has captured the attention of gamers worldwide. With constant updates from Rockstar for GTA Online, there’s no shortage of new content and interesting things to do. Join Old Grumpy Gamers as they complete an assessment of every business in GTA 5 Story Mode.
Types of Businesses
There are 15 businesses that you can buy in GTA 5 Story Mode, and they can be broken down into two distinct types: passive and active. Passive businesses earn you money regardless of what you’re doing in-game, while active businesses require you to complete missions to run them. There’s also a car scrapyard that’s kind of active, but the weekly earnings are capped, and we’ll get into that a bit later. In this ultimate business assessment, Old Grumpy Gamers looks at each one to determine which ones are worth your investment and which ones you should avoid.
Assessment of Each Business
The assessment of each business includes the purchase price, earning potential, weekly earnings, and the number of hours of gameplay it will take to recover your investment. The businesses will be assessed in a top-down approach.
The Hen House
The Hen House comes in at 80 grand and given its location, it has limited earning potential and only brings in 920 per week. It means it’s going to take roughly 487 hours of gameplay to recover your investment, making it a big old nope.
LSPD Auto Impound Lot
At 150,000, LSPD Auto Impound Lot is an active business where you get 500 per pickup. However, to break even, you need to do 300 tow truck missions, which translates to roughly 20 hours of gameplay. It’s probably not a great investment, but if you really like doing the Tanya missions, go for it, I guess.
McKenzie Field Hangar
The McKenzie Field Hangar is actually the first business that you can buy in GTA 5 Story Mode and comes in at around 150 grand. This active business has some really interesting missions, is great for flight and driving practice, and only takes about four hours of gameplay to break even. It’s definitely a solid investment.
Downtown Cab Company
At 200, the Downtown Cab Company happily does its own thing but only brings in 2 grand per week, which translates to roughly 550 hours of gameplay before you get your money back. It’s a note for this one.
Smoke on the Water
Heading to Vespucci Beach, Smoke on the Water comes in at 204,000. With weekly earnings of 9,300, it’ll take you a little over 120 hours to get your money back, so if you’re planning on taking your time and 100%ing the game, it’s a definite maybe.
Sonar Collection Dock
One of the best active businesses in the game is the Sonar Collection Dock at 250 grand. It gives you a submarine, a dinghy, and access to the nuclear waste collection missions, which all up net you six hundred and thirty thousand in profit for only roughly two hours of work. It’s definitely worth it. Oh, and it also unlocks Abigail’s missions as well, which is a nice plus.
Scrapyard
At 275,000, the premise of the Scrapyard sounds really great a hundred and fifty dollars per car destroyed under any circumstances in the greater Los Santos area. However, the earnings are capped at five thousand dollars per week, meaning even if you rampage all the time, destroy hundreds of cars, and do the whole thing using free ammo drops, it will still take you north of 300 hours to recover your money. That’s a big nope.
Blaine County Los Santos Customs
The Blaine County Los Santos Customs is a bit of a hidden gem, coming in at 349,000. It only brings in 1,600 per week, which equates to roughly 1,200 hours of gameplay, so you’re never getting your money back, but Franklin gets free car customizations if he owns it, so it will absolutely pay for itself in savings. If you’re a bit of a car nut, it’s definitely worth grabbing.
Biker Bar Cookies
The Biker Bar Cookies come in at 600 grand and net you roughly 4,700 per week. At 716 hours to get your money back, it’s probably a waste, though.
Pictures
Pictures is next on the list at 750,000. It picks up 7,100 per week without you having to do much but still works out to a little over 590 hours of gameplay, and that’s a lot. So, I wouldn’t worry about taking this one either
Tequila
The last of the watering holes available is a Tequila at 2 million, which sounds like a solid investment with a weekly income of 16,500. However, that still means nearly 680 hours of gameplay to recover your funds, and most players will never get near this number. So, don’t waste your money.
The Cinemas
The cinemas consist of three theaters that are only worth investing in if you have a ton of money to spare. The first one is the Doppler, which costs 10 million dollars and is a solid earner at $132,000 per week. But, that still equates to 480 hours of gameplay, so recovering your cash will probably take a while.
The next one is the 10 Cent Theater at 20 million, and it’s probably going to give you a better return on investment at $264,000 per week. But, that only just works out to marginally better than the Doppler, with it still taking roughly 430 hours to recover your money.
The Tivoli is utter rubbish at a cost of 30 million and a weekly income of only $142,000. It will take you 1180 hours of solid game play to see any kind of return on this, so that’s a big nope for that one.
Los Santos Golf Club
Finally, we have the Los Santos Golf Club at a whopping 150 million dollars, which squeaks out the 10 Cent Theater for earnings at $264,500 per week. Sounds good, right? Well, that’s 3175 hours of gameplay to get your money back. To put that in perspective, if GTA Story Mode is your full-time job, and you played for 7.5 hours per day, five days per week, without any holidays or breaks, it would take you 85 weeks to get your money back. That’s more than a year and a half of real-world playing. It’s a great flex, but a rubbish investment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if we’re talking return on investment only, Old Grumpy Gamers recommend grabbing the McKenzie Airfield Hangar, the Sonar Collection Dock, and the Blaine County Los Santos Customs and then forget about the rest. Thanks for watching. Check out the playlist up the top for the detailed business breakdowns, or the link down the bottom for some more Old Grumpy Gamer goodness. Stay safe, wash your hands, and happy gaming!
