Rockstar has announced GTA Online players can jump forward a console generation for no cost
If you’ve been stuck on your PS4 or Xbox One copy of Grand Theft Auto V, annoyed at the prospect of having to pay all over again for a current-gen version of the game for your PS5 or Xbox Series console, then rejoice: As of tomorrow, June 18, Rockstar are permanently making it free to upgrade your older copy to one for modern machines (thanks Gematsu). And the same goes for PC players with the Legacy edition of the game, who can now boost that to the contemporary Enhanced. Could this be the beginning of the end for the last-gen versions of the game?
This news, as revealed by Rockstar, comes in conjunction with a big update due for GTA Online this July, The Kortz Center Heist. That’s going to require Online players to prepare, which includes adding an art studio to mansions, and which will all be encouraged in-game with a bunch of discounts and rewards. It also seems that Rockstar is trying to get its audience onto the more modern versions of the 13-year-old game ahead of this by dropping the upgrade costs and grandfathering everyone in.
Generational wealth
There was a brief time after the release of the current-gen versions of the game where you could upgrade for $10, but that window slammed shut a long while back, and more recently you’ve needed to buy the game all over again. So hooray, that dark period of history is no more! You can migrate your profile between console generations fairly easily and start playing the prettier, more technically impressive version of GTA Online for no extra pennies. The same goes for getting from GTA V Legacy to GTA V Enhanced on PC, which Rockstar has been wishing you would do since it unlisted the former on Steam years back.
Of course, this does all suggest that support for the PS4, Xbox One and Legacy versions of GTA Online could soon be coming to an end. Trying to move people along by removing the fees is hardly being done out of the goodness of the space where Rockstar would have a heart. This most likely signals an effort to smooth the process before an announcement of moving on from supporting the increasingly decrepit consoles. Kotaku‘s GTA expert Zack Zwiezen suggests that following the launch of GTA 6 in November, perhaps early next year when the fuss starts to die down a little, the developer will let on that the death of these older versions of GTA V is coming. And there will be plenty of long-time players who’ve stuck with the older consoles who won’t be happy.
Of course, any announcement from Rockstar also causes the froth-mouthed fanbase to start stringing more red yarn across their pinboards, certain that this means some big GTA 6 news must be imminent. Expect yet another frenzy about pre-orders or a new trailer to pop up all over, while Rockstar just stares on in detached indifference.
