Why GTA V coming to PS5 is actually a great idea

Grand Theft Auto fans were dealt possibly the biggest blow to date in the wait for GTA 6 when the logo of the current title appeared during Sony’s PS5 reveal event, but it’s far too early to rule out this decision. 

Of course, there are millions of players across the world that are hoping for official word on the next game, and their frustration is totally understandable. This has been the longest period of time since the series began in 1997 without a new game, as Grand Theft Auto V came out back in 2013.

We now know that the game will be remastered for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X as well, with a fresh trailer revealed on June 11.

One of the craziest things to consider, really, is that this will be the third generation of console that Rockstar Games’ flagship will have featured on, but over time there has been no sign of stagnation. If anything, things have become better and better, at least in the online side of things. Losing out on a fresh story, for the time being, is obviously a blow.

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That being said, whether it be fresh heist missions, constant content updates every Thursday, or the opening of the Diamond Casino & Resort, Rockstar have pulled out all of the stops to make sure the current experience doesn’t get stale.

GTA 5 has evolved significantly since launch and its this continued growth that will make the wait for the latest installment all the more worthwhile – after all, Rockstar has only recently ironed out the kinks following its wave of big updates and hefty patches.

When the Casino opened, for example, the game attracted more players than it ever has before, as reported by the dev team in their official news blog back in January. That was just a single building as well, imagine what they can do with a remaster.

Something we can take away from the PlayStation 5 presser is the concept of expansion. It opens up so many options, especially when you consider the countless amount of supposed leaks and teasers that have dropped in relation to a move to South America. For all we know, that expansion means extra maps, or a way of traveling to other islands in heists, missions, or general online play. They referenced it again in another blog post.

A statement, posted on June 11, says the remastered version will be “expanded and enhanced” when it launches in the second half of 2021.

It also reads: “And for the massive and vibrant community of Grand Theft Auto Online players worldwide, the journey through the ever-evolving, shared world of GTA Online will continue on to the new generation with more new updates including additional GTA Online content exclusive to the new consoles and PC.”

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If those comments are anything to go by, expect there to be a lot more than crisper graphics when we all make the move over to next-gen.

Reading between the lines here, which is something you have to do as a Grand Theft Auto player with these announcements as Rockstar rarely give anything away, there’s a chance that we’ll be able to keep everything that’s great about the map we’ve got to know so well, while also jetting off to other locations as well. Something we’ve not seen before.

With the expanded power and graphic improvements at their disposal, it is highly unlikely – if not unthinkable – that the remastered version would just be more of the same, even if there were no real signs of new content in the trailer.

There’s plenty of time to see what’s in store for us next. With what we know about the new version of Grand Theft Auto 5 already, no, it might not be as exciting as a GTA 6 release, but it’s far too early to be calling it a disappointment at this stage.

GTA Online has been exceeding expectations for the last few years, and there’s no evidence to suggest things will be different on PlayStation 5, either. More cars. More weapons. More places to explore. Revamping this game might not be a bad idea after all.