Every Version of GTA 5

“Grand Theft Auto V” (2013) - Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3

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The 10 Weirdest Unlockables In Grand Theft Auto Games

“Grand Theft Auto V” initially launched at a very, very strange time, releasing just a couple of months before the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. One would wonder why the game wasn’t just delayed for the sake of catching onto that new hardware. Besides, GTA V on Xbox 360 and PS3 was kind of rough in terms of performance. We’re talking a fluctuating twenty to thirty frames per second and a limiting draw distance that can make driving somewhat tumultuous. Also, the flickering of shadows and lighting can make for a distracting travel across Los Santos. That isn’t to say that this version is inherently bad. GTA V is a good game. However, we all have to be honest and say that even by 2013 standards, it’s rough. Really rough. And yet, it was enough for Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive to rake in the cash and make GTA V the most financially successful video game ever.

Chances are this was the version where most folks experienced GTA V, and it was probably for the best. Released just a little over a year after the original version, “Grand Theft Auto V: Enhanced Edition” aimed to take advantage of the PS4 and Xbox One’s capabilities. The frame rate is more stable (for the most part), the draw distance is a little less noticeable, and an updated UI makes the menus look cleaner. But the biggest addition here was the first-person camera. Now, you could fully immerse yourself in Los Santos as Franklin or Michael (...or Travis, if you really wanted to be a psychopath), and you could switch between this or third-person with just a few inputs. As for GTA Online, the transition from seventh to eighth gen consoles was friendly to users, allowing original owners to transfer their save data. And just to sweeten the deal for original owners, making the jump to PS4 and Xbox One would net you special vehicles, weapons, and even a few extra side missions to take part in.

On the surface, the PC version of GTA V is simply that - a PC version of a game that came out the year before. The thing is that when it comes to PC gaming, games can have an entirely new life of their own thanks to one thing: mods. The second GTA V popped up on PC was the second modders began their masterful work in making it way more entertaining than GTA ever has been on its own. You have mods that change the look of the game, mods that incorporate new vehicles or replace pre-existing ones with better vehicles, mods that turn your character into characters from other franchises, mods that give you superhero powers, mods that give you more cosmetic options for you and NPCs, mods that turn you into Lego people, let you drink Hennessy, control your character with a bike in the real world, experience “Back to the Future”, make water poison, litter Los Santos with anime waifus… Point is that modding gives games so much replay value, more than a developer even on Rockstar’s level could ever accomplish. And that is why so many people rushed out to buy GTA V a third time. But for some of us, that still wasn’t enough.

If you needed an excuse to buy GTA V a fourth time, well, you didn’t have to look far. You had to wait a while, but not look far. After way too much marketing and vague release windows, GTA V finally came to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2022, and it brought a plethora of technical improvements. We’re talking 4K resolution, sixty frames per second (with rarely any stutters, if ever), significant increase in draw distance, quicker load times (goodbye sitting at the bootup screen for minutes on end), and an incredible amount of detail in character models, environments, and effects. In a way, GTA V got a near-complete graphical and technical overhaul, thus bringing the game into its fully realized form. It very much is worth the ten-dollar upgrade.