We already knew that Grand Theft Auto V was going to be a 4K experience running at 60fps on PS5 and Xbox Series consoles, but Rockstar has now gone into much more detail on the improvements made as well as confirming the release dates.
Both GTA V and GTA Online will launch digitally on March 15 for PS5, Xbox Series X, and Series S, followed by physical releases in April. As well as the resolution and frame rate improvements, Rockstar says we can expect improved texture quality, the availability of HDR if you have a compatible TV, and ray tracing. The latest consoles also allow for “faster loading times, immersive 3D audio, support for platform-specific features, and more.”
That “and more” turns out to be three new graphics detail options called Fidelity Mode, Performance Mode, and Performance RT. The difference between each can be summarized as follows for the PS5 and Xbox Series X:
- Fidelity Mode: 30fps, native 4K, ray tracing, highest visual quality possible
- Performance Mode: 60fps, upscaled 4K
- Performance RT: 60fps, upscaled 4K, ray tracing
For the Xbox Series S, only Fidelity Mode and Performance Mode are available. For Fidelity Mode, the resolution is 4K upscaled, and for Performance Mode the resolution is 1080p. It’s still an improvement, but one matched to the lower performance level of the Series S hardware.
On all three consoles, Rockstar says we can expect to see increased character populations, traffic variety, and vegetation density. There’s also lighting and shadow improvements, water reflections, motion-blur, higher detail explosions and fire, and improved anti-aliasing.
For GTA Online, we can expect all the content from the game added over the past eight years, as well as new vehicles, a new class of Races, and “Hao’s Special Works” offering vehicle upgrades. New players can take advantage of a Career Builder feature, including GTA$4 million, and a revamped introduction, tutorial, and main menu. If you own a PS5, Rockstar is making GTA Online free to “download and keep” for the first three month it’s available.
Finally, Rockstar is allowing GTA V Story Mode progress and GTA Online characters/progress to be transferred from PS4 and Xbox One from today. This is done by transferring a save file to your Rockstar Games Social Club account, with the save data remaining available for 90 days. Once the game launches for the new consoles, the save data can be downloaded and progression continues from where you left off.
