Rockstar Games is finally releasing the "next-gen" update of Grand Theft Auto 5 for PC players of the game. This is roughly the same content that came out on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S almost two years ago, or back on March 15, 2022 to be exact. This particular update for PC players won't be out until March 4th, so there's still a few more weeks left to wait.
First and foremost: This update, or upgrade, will be free to everyone that owns Grand Theft Auto 5 on PC.
This update will finally add ray tracing features to the PC version of Grand Theft Auto 5. While consoles only include ray traced shadows and reflections, PC players will also have access to ray traced ambient occlusion and global illumination.
This update also adds support for AMD FSR1 and FSR3, plus Nvidia DLSS 3. Why include FSR1 at all? I don't know. I can't imagine there are situations where you would ever want to use FSR1 over FSR3.
This update will also include faster loading times for those using SSD and with systems capable of DirectStorage. There will also be "enhanced support for higher resolutions, higher aspect ratios, and higher framerates."
The PC version will also get DualSense controller support. There will also be better audio support for Dolby Atmos capable systems, along with improved fidelity of speech, cinematics, and music.
Unsurprisingly, these changes do come with some changes in minimum and recommended PC system specs.
Other changes include the addition of a GTA+ Membership option. There are also a bunch of GTA Online upgrades that were locked to next-gen consoles for up to two years now as well. Some of these additions include new vehicles and upgrades from Hao's Special Works, the addition of animals into GTA Online, Wildlife Photography Challenges, Career Progress feature, a "refreshed Landing Page" and introductory flow for new players. There is also an updated kernel-based anti-cheat and proactive voice chat moderation.
