Rockstar Games last month teased fans with a five-minute look at gameplay from the upcoming Grand Theft Auto V. Today, the company released more details(Opens in a new window) about the bundled GTA Online multiplayer mode.

The online title, which launches Oct. 1, allows for up to 16 players (yourself included) to gang up on Los Santos, robbing liquor stores, carrying out elaborate heists, or simply shooting at each other in the desert with giant guns.

“Rockstar Games is looking to bring the heart of the Grand Theft Auto experience to a living online world with multiple players,” the company said in its official gameplay trailer (below). “Just what you choose to do in that world is up to you.”

Boasting redesigned mechanics and a range of structured and unstructured activities for players, the gameplay video (below) shows players completing on solo or gang-related missions, buying apartments, and storing their collection of cars in their personal garage.

As in any GTA game, players can complete jobs to make money and earn a reputation, then spend petty cash on customizing their character’s outfit, weapon of choice, favorite vehicle, and physical embodiment (even play as a woman if you’d like).

“Everything you do helps you progress through the world, introducing you to new characters, new missions, rewards, and almost limitless opportunities,” the company said.

GTA Online’s “persistent and continually expanding world” will include frequent content updates, though users can always design their own races and death matches using the content creator.

The online mode will hit shelves two weeks after Rockstar’s GTA V title, which is expected on Sept. 17 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Gamers can pre-order the title, which comes with a free copy of GTA Online.

Set in the streets of Southern California, Grand Theft Auto V was announced in late October 2011, with a new logo and trailer. Last month, the studio revealed that, for the first time, the game will actually feature three would-be heroes, between whom players can swap for different vantage points.

The fifth installment marks the continuation of the popular franchise, which has shipped more than 125 million units(Opens in a new window) total since it debuted in 1997.

The game caused a stir this week, when Nvidia senior investor relations director Chris Evenden inadvertently announced that Grand Theft Auto V will hit PCs this fall. Nvidia later said his remarks were “not intended to represent specific knowledge possessed by Nvidia”.

For more, see PCMag’s review of Grand Theft Auto IV.