The Cayo Perico Heist offered Grand Theft Auto Online players the chance to take on a heist alone for the first time, and it appears that many players took Rockstar up on that offer. This heist marked the first of several major achievements for Grand Theft Auto Online, including being the first content in the Grand Theft Auto franchise to be set outside of the United States in two decades. It was also the first major change to the heist missions since they were added in 2015. Previously, heists could only be done with a full team of four members, limiting players without a full party from being able to complete these missions. This restriction was one of the biggest pain points for players, along with the numerous glitches in Grand Theft Auto Online, but the solo restriction was lifted with the update.
In the Cayo Perico heist, players were tasked with breaching the secure private island, which was the home base of the notorious drug dealer El Rubio. There, they would have to recover incriminating documents to help free the Madrazo family from El Rubio's control, earning some pretty hefty payouts as a result. The heist also featured a new vehicle in the form of a Kosatka submarine, which served as the player's planning base. Joined by Pavel, an NPC who runs the submarine and provides the player (or players) with additional information about El Rubio, Grand Theft Auto Online players are able to plan and execute the perfect heist to retrieve those documents.
According to Rockstar, over half of all Grand Theft Auto Online players who participated in the Caya Perico Heist elected to take it on solo, rather than finding a group to help attack the heist. In the release, Rockstar also confirmed that Grand Theft Auto Online set a new all-time high in player count, thanks in large part to the Caya Perico Heist content. Player enthusiasm for the Cayo Perico content was also quite high in 2020.
This news certainly seems to confirm that Rockstar made the right call in opening up heists to be single-player as well. Many players prefer to experience games, even online multiplayer games like Grand Theft Auto Online, solo so that they can unwind and relax. Others simply don't have enough friends who play the game regularly, thereby restricting them from participating in the heists. With Rockstar's willingness to continue adding new content, namely adding an entirely new area to the Grand Theft Auto Online world, it's no surprise that Rockstar continues to find new players and retain the ones that are already invested in their game.