GTA 5 and GTA Online will be released as upgraded, native PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions on March 15.
After a delay last year, Rockstar has confirmed that the new-gen editions will arrive soon, bringing “new graphics modes with up to 4K resolution, up to 60 frames per second, texture and draw distance upgrades, HDR options and ray-tracing”.
Rockstar also promises that the games will take advantage of new console tech, offering “faster loading times, immersive 3D audio, platform-specific features like advanced haptic feedback, and much more.”
Players will be able to perform a “one-time migration” of their story mode progress and GTA Online characters from PS4 and Xbox One to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
It’s not clear whether there will be a free or paid upgrade path from last-gen games, nor whether save migration can be performed cross-platform, or has to stay within a console family. We’ve contacted Rockstar for comment.
As previously announced, GTA Online will also be released as a standalone game, without the need to purchase GTA 5. It will be free for three months after launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X, but Rockstar has not announced a price after that date.
GTA Online itself will also be add new onboarding features when it comes to the new console generation. Players will be able to skip the GTA 5 story prologue to enter (presumably because Online no longer requires a purchase of 5), and a new Career Builder feature is being added.
New Online players will be able to choose to create one of four businesses – Biker, Executive, Nightclub Owner, or Gunrunner – to start the game with, along with in-game cash wot buy properties, vehicles, and weapons. Returning players can either transfer their character’s existing progress, or restart the game and use the Career Builder function.
The new-gen versions of the game will also add Hao’s Special Works auto shop, which allows players to upgrade 10 vehicles for “elite driving performance that takes full advantage of the upgraded power of new console hardware.”
Today’s announcement also confirmed that GTA 6 is in development, and it will be interesting to see how that game builds around the existing GTA Online structure.
GTA Online recently got perhaps its most high-profile addition yet – a Franklin-based campaign set years after GTA 5, and co-starring the actual Dr. Dre.
Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.