I'm sorry but you're insane if you think R* is generous with gtao, the business model for that system is ludicrous.
It's nothing like a good mmo.
The GTAO missions suck, it took them years to implement content promised on launch, the progression is mind numbingly slow. The online experience is nothing short of terrible. It's like all the worst parts of a bunch of games crammed into one.
The best part is the mechanics are really quite bad! Yes you can give it slack because of its scope but that doesn't make it less boring to play.
Driving is mediocre and not very fun. It's serviceable but racing isn't fun, especially online.
Shooting is dull as bricks, takes no skill on consoles in particular due to auto aim, guns locked behind XP walls. Gunplay feels weak at best.
There's no sense of community online because everyone just shoots you on sight, gets real old real fast. On that note it's full of kids.
I think it's a bad sign when people don't want to play the game itself, just grind out missions repeatedly to earn money to have fun in the free mode, which is the only decent fun in the game. Spoiler, can't do that because you need more money, go spend hundreds of hours farming it or maybe buy a shark card.
World of Warcraft I haven't played honestly, but at least it looked like it was a good game.
It's fine to like GTA online but don't try to defend its business model.