After three years, Rockstar Games is finally bringing over next-gen console features of Grand Theft Auto V and GTA Online to PC.
This will be a free, optional upgrade available on March 4.
The following features has been available since a native GTA V and GTA Online version for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S was made available back in 2022, and will now be available with this free next-gen upgrade for PC:
- GTA Online-specific:
- Hao’s Special Works, vendor that sells new cars and upgrades and includes special events including Premium Test Rides, HSW Races, and HSW Time Trials
- Ambient Animals can be encountered, take pictures of them for the daily Wildlife Photography Challenge for new rewards
- GTA+ Membership
- Career Progress feature- track stats of GTA Online content
- New Landing Page
- New players get GTA$4,000,000, enough to buy a business to start an Executive, Gunrunner, Nightclub Owner, or Biker career
- Kernel-based anti-cheat (BattlEye)
- Proactive voice chat moderation
- Ray-tracing
- Ray-traced shadows and reflections, as available on PS5, Xbox Series
- PC exclusive: Ambient occlusion, global illumination
- Faster load times on SSD and DirectStorage-supported devices
- Support for higher resolutions, more aspect ratios, higher framerates
- DualSense controller support
- Dolby Atmos enhanced audio
It’s a big upgrade, enough to bump up the minimum spec requirements. Plus, it also adds BattlEye anti-cheat which makes GTA Online unplayable on non-Windows devices like Steam Deck. So it’s nice that the next-gen PC upgrade is optional. FiveM and roleplay servers won’t require BattlEye to function.
However, GTA Online players of two different PC versions (the current one and this upgraded one with next-gen features) will not be able to play in the same lobby.
Players who purchase GTA V after this update will have access to both the old, current version and the new next-gen upgrade version with all the new features.
Better late than never, but it’s a now common knowledge that Rockstar will take its time to bring some love to PC gamers.
The hotly anticipated GTA VI still has no PC release window, and judging by past trends like the late PC release of Red Dead Redemption 2 and its prequel and this update, this will likely continue.
Rockstar is teasing new GTA Online content is coming in an upcoming update dropping next month, so the money-printing live service still has legs.