Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto V is an open-world action game by Rockstar North. The campaign follows the stories of Michael De Santa, Franklin Clinton and Trevor Philips, whose criminal careers become increasingly intertwined in Los Santos and Blaine County.

A key part of the game is large heists, which are prepared and played with different roles. Between missions, you can freely explore the vast game world. Vehicles, shootouts, side activities and spontaneous encounters blend together.

Grand Theft Auto V was originally released on Sep 17, 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Native versions for PS4 and Xbox One followed in November 2014, and the PC release came in April 2015.

On March 15, 2022, Rockstar released standalone versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S with higher resolutions, up to 60 FPS, ray tracing and faster loading times. Since March 4, 2025, Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced has also been available on PC as a technically modernized product line.

Grand Theft Auto V has native releases for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. The PS4 and Xbox One versions can also be played on newer consoles via backward compatibility, but remain technically separate from the native PS5 and Xbox Series versions.

On PC there are currently two technical branches: the original Legacy version and Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced. Enhanced adds, among other things, extra ray tracing features, faster loading times via SSD and DirectStorage, and modern upscaling techniques.

The campaign switches at any time between three protagonists with their own abilities, relationships and life situations. Many missions use this change of perspective directly, while larger heists bring together several characters and preparatory tasks.

Los Santos and the more rural Blaine County form one continuous open game world. Alongside story missions, the game includes street races, sports, real estate, random events, flying, diving and numerous other side activities. The later versions support both third-person and first-person perspectives.

For the current PC branch Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced, Rockstar lists at least Windows 10 (64-bit), a Core i7-4770 or AMD FX-9590, 8 GB RAM and a GeForce GTX 1630 or Radeon RX 6400. Around 105 GB on an SSD is required.

Recommended: Windows 11, Core i5-9600K or Ryzen 5 3600, 16 GB RAM and RTX 3060 or Radeon RX 6600 XT. For the recommended settings, Rockstar lists a DirectStorage-compatible SSD.

Since the PC upgrade on March 4, 2025, Rockstar distinguishes two technical versions: the original PC version is called Grand Theft Auto V Legacy, alongside Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced as a separate modernized version. Legacy thus remains the older PC branch and is not merely a graphics mode within Enhanced.

For Legacy, Rockstar lists significantly lower requirements: at least Windows 10 (64-bit), Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 or AMD Phenom 9850, 4 GB RAM, GeForce 9800 GT or Radeon HD 4870, and 125 GB storage. Recommended are Core i5-3470 or FX-8350, 8 GB RAM and GTX 660 or Radeon HD 7870.

When switching to Enhanced, story progress and a GTA Online profile can be migrated. The two PC versions remain technically separate. After a migration, progress does not automatically sync between Legacy and Enhanced. For players with older hardware or dependencies on the previous PC version, Legacy therefore remains relevant as a separate branch.