With GTA 6 officially one month away from launch, it’s almost unbelievable that its predecessor looks the way it did. One GTA 6 fan has recreated the game’s trailer in GTA 5 to show just how big a graphical jump there is between the two entries. The differences are night and day, showing just how impressive the tech behind GTA 6 and its rendition of Vice City is in 2026.
It’s safe to say that GTA 6 is one of the most anticipated games of the past decade, especially since it’s been over 13 years since GTA 5 was originally released. In that time, the landscape of the gaming industry has changed dramatically, as has the technology that powers its development and the hardware that runs it. As such, it’s no surprise that GTA 6 looks leagues better than its predecessor, but the dramatic difference between the two entries far outpaces the rest of the franchise.
GTA 5 Remake of GTA 6 Trailer Shows Dramatic Graphical Gap
YouTuber GearOS Play’s recreated GTA 6‘s most recent trailer in GTA 5 just a few days after the trailer debuted. The remake follows the GTA 6 trailer beat for beat, with shots recreated using GTA 5‘s Michael and his wife Amanda as stand-ins for GTA 6 protagonists Jason and Lucia. While GTA 5‘s Los Santos setting makes for a close enough approximation of GTA 6‘s Vice City, the trailer remake shows that the two games are miles farther apart than simply their settings.
It’s immediately noticeable that the sprawling map of Los Santos that impressed players in 2013 is far less detailed than it appears in 2026. Close shots in the trailer remake reveal just how low-res some of the textures are when not viewed from a distance and mixed into the Los Santos skyline. While water and other reflective surfaces still look pretty good, the overall lighting of GTA 5 is nowhere near as realistic as GTA 6, making characters look flat by comparison.
Comments on this video also demonstrate just how impressive GTA 6 looks compared to GTA 5. One commenter notes that GTA 6 makes GTA 5 look like San Andreas, which makes sense given that almost a decade separates the two as well. Rockstar has always been on the cutting edge of gaming tech, with each new release impressing players, but for GTA 6 to look this much better than what was considered the forefront of graphical capabilities in 2013 shows just how far gaming has come in the past decade.
Although there has already been some controversy surrounding GTA 6‘s 30 FPS cap on consoles, it’s hard to ignore the fidelity of GTA 6‘s graphics despite its underwhelming frame rate. However, it’s worth noting that GTA 5 also ran at 30 FPS at launch, yet was still praised for its visuals at the time. The eventual PC release of GTA 6 may push its performance even further, with the potential for uncapped frame rates alongside its incredible visual fidelity, showcasing just what is possible when pairing cutting-edge game development tech with modern gaming rigs.
- Released
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November 19, 2026
- ESRB
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Rating Pending – Likely Mature 17+
