Rockstar has halved the amount of money you'll receive from repeating missions in Grand Theft Auto Online.

The developer confirmed the change over the weekend on its support site after anger from fans at its sneaky introduction - the alteration first went live in last Friday's patch, although Rockstar made no mention of it at the time.

"For those of you inquiring about mission payouts, there was a change that reduces payouts by 50 per cent after a repeat of the mission," Rockstar explained. "The first time you play and beat the mission, you will get the full amount. Subsequent replays will see a payout amount reduced by half. This is to keep the game balanced as well as encourage the exploration of new missions and content in the game.

"We understand players do like to enjoy a mission multiple times, so rather than remove the possibility of doing so, we've allowed replays of these missions at a reduced payout. Many players can get very good at a mission and beat it much faster in consecutive tries, so we've adjusted these payouts to match that case.

"We apologise that there was not full clarity about this in the patch notes; however, hopefully this note will clear things up. If there are any additional questions, please do not hesitate to ask."

Rockstar also mentioned it was looking into making NPC missions replayable - a popular request amongst the community - but that such a change would have to wait for another patch.

The decision comes just days before the first half of Rockstar's $500,000 stimulus package arrives in player bank accounts as an apology for GTA Online's shaky launch. Perhaps the developer was worried players would have too much money on their hands too soon?