Grand Theft Auto 5 and GTA Online PS5 and Xbox Series X/S New Features Revealed

In a new blog post, Rockstar revealed that all of the expected next-gen improvements will affect GTA 5 and GTA Online, plus more. Both GTA 5 and GTA Online can be pre-purchased and preloaded on next-gen consoles starting March 8th. Releases on physical media will follow in April.

Starting with GTA 5, here’s a rundown of the new features.

New features of GTA 5

Grand Theft Auto 5 will support three new graphics options for players who want something different from their games. Fidelity Mode will run at the highest visual settings, native ray-traced 4K at 30fps for both PS5 and Xbox Series X. Xbox Series S will support upscaled 4K resolution.

Performance Mode will target 60fps at 4K extended resolution for PS5 and Series X, and 1080p for Series S.

Finally, Performance RT is a hybrid of Fidelity and Performance mode that allows you to run GTA 5 in upscaled 4K resolution with ray tracing and a target of 60fps. This mode is only available on PS5 and Xbox Series X.

GTA 5 will also take advantage of the PS5’s DualSense controller with haptics and other adaptive triggers, and will include Tempest 3D audio on PS5 and spatial audio on Xbox Series X/S. Both console versions will use SSDs for faster downloads.

Rockstar promises “high-quality PC visuals” on the console, including “increased population and traffic diversity, increased vegetation density, improved lighting quality for shadows, water reflections, and other elements. Plus improved anti-aliasing, motion blur, new detailed explosions, fires and more.”

New features of GTA Online

For Grand Theft Auto Online, the live game will include over eight years of gameplay and content updates, as well as new vehicles and Hao’s special works added to the Los Santos Auto Meet.

Hao’s Special Works include vehicle upgrades, a new racing class for modified vehicles, and a weekly rotation of Hao’s Special Works Time Trials and Premium Test Drives.

Next generation versions of GTA Online will also receive quality of life improvements, including a new intro and tutorial, as well as a more helpful main menu that lets you jump right into the action.

GTA Online will also be available as a standalone game for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, and can even be downloaded and saved for free for PS5 players for the first three months of release. However, Rockstar has yet to announce a price for a standalone GTA Online.

For new players who have finally taken the plunge into GTA Online, Rockstar is introducing the Career Builder, in which new players will receive a free GTA$4,000,000 bonus for players to be able to purchase properties, vehicles, and weapons.

Transfer an existing character

If you’re a longtime GTA Online player, Rockstar has announced that PS4 and Xbox One players can transfer both their GTA 5 Story Mode progress and GTA Online characters to next-gen systems and even across console platforms, meaning PlayStation players can transfer to Xbox and vice versa.

This is a one-time migration, but includes any characters, GTA dollars, progress, stats, vehicles, mods, weapons, clothing, and player-created quests. The transfer will be done through your Rockstar Games Social Club account.

You start the Story Mode transfer from today by going to the Game tab in the GTA 5 pause menu and clicking Load Saved Game. Saves will be available for download for 90 days after upload. GTA Online Account Transfer will only be available from March 15th.

Grand Theft Auto 5 and GTA Online are extremely popular even though they are almost 10 years old. And while Rockstar has confirmed it’s working on a new Grand Theft Auto 6, until then, Los Santos will still be open for business.

Matt TM Kim is the news editor for IGN. You can contact him @lawoftd.