Every Arcade in GTA Online, Ranked Worst to Best

Image: Rockstar North, Rockstar Games via HGG / Koby Gibson Ross

Human Made

Penned by Gibson Vasela

My name is Gibson Vasela. I am a freelance writer who has been playing video games for almost 20 years now. I play all kinds of games, but I especially love immersive sims and RPGs.

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

Arcades are without a doubt one of the best businesses ever added to GTA Online. Not only is owning your very own arcade and bar really sick, but it allows you to pull off one of the most profitable heists in GTA Online…the Diamond Casino Heist.

But out of all the six arcade locations in GTA Online, which ones are the best to own? Which ones are worth getting, and what ones are practically worthless? We’ll be going over all of these questions and more in today’s article on every arcade in GTA Online, ranked from worst to best.

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Arcade Overview

Before we dive straight into the ranking, let’s take a moment to discuss what exactly arcades are and why you should consider getting one. Arcades are a type of purchasable business in GTA Online. They allow the player to invest their hard-earned funds in order to make a profit. Additionally, there are some special upgrades that you can purchase for the arcade to make it useful in ways other than making you money. But more on that in a moment.

For the money-making side of this business, there are two different ways you can make cash with your arcade. There’s an active method and a passive method. The arcade acts first and foremost as a hub for you to launch the Diamond Casino Heist! From this property, you can plan your heist, launch setup missions, store your equipment, and finally launch the heist with you and a friend or three. This is the active method, and it’s one of the most profitable heists in the entire game.

As for the passive method, the arcade also acts as, well, an arcade! Using a laptop inside of your office, you can purchase/order many different arcade cabinets. Upon being delivered, you can set them up in your arcade for customers to play. For each arcade cabinet you have in your arcade, you will gain an increase in your passive income. You can make up to $5,000 a day if your arcade is completely filled with cabinets!

In addition to making you money, there are also a few other bonuses to owning this property. For starters, you can purchase the Master Control Terminal! This is a special computer that lets you manage most of your other businesses in GTA Online from one location. You can also buy a basement garage that will allow you to store up to ten vehicles at once. Another great upgrade is a recon drone, which allows you to send out a remote-controlled device that can spy on other players.

Every GTA 5 Online Arcade, Ranked from Worst to Best

With that overview done and over with, let’s jump right into our ranking of every arcade in GTA Online!

6/6

Pixel Pete’s, Paleto Bay

Kicking off our list in dead last is — surprise, surprise — Pixel Pete’s. This is a very inexpensive (and also very isolated) arcade that you can purchase in the small town of Paleto Bay. This area is located at the northwest corner of the map. It is far, far away from the Diamond Casino. Because of this, it is without a doubt the worst location if you plan to grind the Diamond Casino Heist efficiently.

The primary benefit of this arcade is that it is the cheapest one in the game. It will cost players a small sum of $1,235,000. This is insanely inexpensive, and it is a great buy if you’re a new player on a budget that wants to get an arcade to host the Diamond Casino heist ASAP. Another benefit of owning this casino is that it is very far away from populated areas in the game and hardly anyone comes to this area.

This will minimize your chances of getting killed by another player when you are in the area. However, its isolation is really only a pro when you are only getting in and out of your arcade to manage it or to start the actual heist. During setup missions, the fact that it is such a long drive to get to and from the missions actually increases your chances of getting killed. So yeah, don’t pay this location any mind.

5/6

Wonderama, Grapeseed

Up next, we have the Wonderama arcade location, which is found in Grapeseed. Grapeseed is a small town located in the center of the map. It is just north of Sandy Shores and across the Alamo Sea. This location is still pretty isolated, but not as much as the one in Paleto Bay is. You can drive to the east and get on a highway leading to the casino, which somewhat alleviates its long distance.

Much like its cousin in Paleto Bay, this particular location is also pretty cheap. You will only have to pay a cost of $1,565,000 in order to acquire this property. This is a tempting business to get if you are low on funds and just want to do the Diamond Casino once or twice to say that you did it. Which is a perfectly valid reason to get this or the previously mentioned arcade location.

Of course, if you are like the many players that want to grind out this heist, then it’s best you get another location. Preferably one in the city. The amount of driving that you will have to do will really add up over several heists. So If you want to do all of the options and try out a bunch of different entries and exits during the finale, then skip over this location.

4/6

Warehouse, Davis

Up next at spot number four, we have the strangely named “Warehouse,” which is located in Davis. This neighborhood is located in Los Santos, specifically at the south in the more industrial areas. Here at this location, you are much more likely to encounter other players than in the previously mentioned arcade locations. But is this extra risk worth the investment?

Let’s first discuss the price. You can buy this location for $2,135,000, which is about $600,000 more expensive than the location in Grapeseed. Personally, I would say that this increase in price is worth it to buy a location in the city instead of one out in the country. However, this particular spot isn’t worth getting due to the fact that you can pay just a little bit more to get a much better spot. And there’s even an arcade cheaper than this one that is located closer to the Casino!

One thing that I do like about this location is that it is fairly close to two CEO offices, which are found in Pillbox Hill. This means that you can spawn at this location to manage your businesses from the Master Control Terminal. Then you can drive north to your office to start a special cargo or Import/Export source mission. It’s not a bad spot to get if you are a money grinder in GTA Online.

3/6

Insert Coin, Rockford Hills

The first of our top three picks is the Rockford Hills location, Insert Coin! Rockford Hills is in the northeastern side of Los Santos, in one of the city’s wealthier neighborhoods. And as you can guess, the price of this location reflects this fact. It will cost you a total sum of $2,345,000. This is only a bit more expensive than the one that is found in Davis. I’d say that this spot is definitely worth getting over that one thanks to its closer proximity to the casino, even with the added price.

Despite being in a pretty good location, hardly anyone seems to own this spot. So if you are looking to get a location that is more unique while also being practical, maybe grab this one. Because the casino is also in the northern parts of the city, the drive to it is pretty straightforward. Just go east and you will get there. It is still a bit of a drive, but it’s definitely not that bad.

There are also some decent locations for other businesses nearby. So if you are a veteran player who happens to own some nearby properties, it would be in your best interest to get this location. However, there is one arcade in particular that is in an even better spot for business-savvy players…

2/6

Eight-Bit, Vinewood

…And that spot is the Eight-Bit, located in the heart of Vinewood! In case you don’t already know, Vinewood is located in the northern part of Los Santos, just under Vinewood Hills. I happen to own this location, and after completing the Diamond Casino Heist dozens of times, I have to say I have very little to complain about.

As you might expect, being located in Vinewood the price tag will be steep. This is the most expensive arcade in the game, costing players exactly $2,530,000! If money is no object, then there is little reason to not get this location here. It is pretty much a straight shot to the casino. Just turn left out of your garage and drive straight, and you’ll be there in less than a minute! This definitely makes it a great location to grind the Casino Heist from.

Remember a minute ago when I said that there was an arcade located in a better spot for business owners than the Rockford Hills location? Well, this is the one! There are so many great business locations you can find nearby. There are two nightclubs, a large special cargo warehouse, and even a high-end safe house for hosting OG heists from. This is a great area to set your spawn location to so that you can start your daily grind in GTA Online.

1/6

Videogeddon, La Mesa

And last but most certainly not least on this ranking of every arcade in GTA Online, we have the La Mesa location, Videogeddon! This is a pretty underutilized location. Mainly due to the fact that people assume the Vinewood location is the best spot because of its high price tag. But that high price tag is also a big weakness, and it makes this particular spot a much more attractive option.

You can purchase this location for $1,875,000. This is a difference of about $650,000 from the previous arcade! This is especially good considering the fact that it is about the same distance away from the casino as the Vinewood location. So considering that why not save yourself more than half a million dollars and just get this property instead?

Another reason why you should get it is that it is close by to other businesses. There is a large special cargo warehouse that is literally right next to it! There are five large special cargo warehouses in this part of the map, and the first one starts in La Mesa. So if you own all five, you could set your spawn location to this arcade.

Then after you manage your businesses with the Master Control Terminal, you could go in a line visiting each one of these warehouses to order your employees to source cargo for you. Once that’s done, you can return to this spot to start doing a Diamond Casino Heist. It’s a fantastic money-grinding method for all CEO’s in GTA Online.

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