Grand Theft Auto V is coming to next gen consoles this March. That, if you’re a GTA V fan, is the good news.
Rockstar’s latest “Grand Theft Auto Community Update”, which you can find here, confirmed that GTA V’s next-gen version will arrive on the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 this March 15th.
It’ll sport several graphics modes, with 4K graphics and up to 60FPS, though not at the same time. In other words, you can expect there to be a performance mode and a 4K mode, potentially with a third in-between mode. Some modes will make use of ray tracing and, because both consoles sport SSDs, the game will load faster.
You’ll be able to transfer your progress from the previous PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of GTA V. That includes both your single player and Grand Theft Auto Online progress, though it’s a “one-time migration”. Why one-time? Rockstar haven’t provided an explanation, but we suspect it’s to avoid complications with GTA V’s online component.
“Migration” certainly suggests that you won’t be able to transfer your Grand Theft Auto Online character back to the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One versions. In the same way you can buy Red Dead Redemption 2’s online mode separately from the main game, you’ll also be able to purchase Grand Theft Auto Online separately and, for three months, it’ll be free to PlayStation 5 players.
So what’s the bad news? The bad news is that, with the next-gen release just over a month away, Rockstar have yet to reveal if there’ll be any kind of upgrade path for next-gen console owners who’ve previously purchased GTA V.
Honestly, we’re not counting on Rockstar offering any kind of discounted upgrade, particularly since there was no upgrade path when Grand Theft Auto V was ported from the Xbox 360 and PS3 to the Xbox One and PS4. Yes, while they weren’t exactly common, there were games – such as Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag – that did offer digital upgrades.
In other Rockstar news, the company has confirmed that development on the next Grand Theft Auto is “well underway”, though they stopped short of calling it GTA VI. Grand Theft Auto V was in development for about three years, so hopefully we won’t have long to wait for this new entry. But given that Rockstar makes a ridiculous amount of cash from Grand Theft Auto Online, will it even be single player? We’ll have to wait and see.
