If your mind casts back far enough, you’ll remember a time when the GTA series was always launched as a PlayStation exclusive. GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas all came to Sony’s console first, not porting to Xbox until anywhere from six months to two years later. It seems that some of that relationship still exists, as it’s now been revealed that the PS5 version of GTA VI will offer a whole bunch of unique features native to the PlayStation’s “immersive” hardware, and if New Zealand pre-order information is correct, it’ll also have a PS5 Pro Enhanced version. Oh, and the claim of “near-instant load times.”
PlayStation’s blog has posted a bunch of details about how the PS5 edition of Grand Theft Auto VI will use all the flashy widgets that too often go underused on the system. That means the DualSense controller’s haptics will be wiggling and jiggling throughout, along with the adaptive triggers (that still feel like wizardly magic to me) and built-in speaker getting in on the action. The rather excitable copy on the site reads,
PS5 puts you in the center of the game world with the DualSense wireless controller reacting to your actions and bringing the sights, sounds, and sensations of Jason and Lucia’s story into the palm of your hands. The controller’s haptic feedback offers responsive vibrations, while its adaptive triggers provide dynamic resistance. The controller’s integrated speaker also adds another dimension to key moments and interactions, with sound effects from the controller enhanced by haptic feedback.
It’s easy to dismiss these as gimmicky nonsense, but in truth I’m constantly surprised by how much difference those adaptive triggers make to games that use them well. I can take or leave the tinny speaker barking at me, but as someone who usually defaults to my Xbox Series S, I’m now pretty tempted to opt in for the PS5 version, and not least because Sony is claiming its “ultra-high speed SSD” will provide “near-instant load times.” So I guess I’ll be clearing all the space off the internal drive again, then.
Of course, we don’t know how this will compare to the Series X, which while not able to provide the clicky triggers and far more enhanced haptics, may do just as well for load times with its own SSD. But what it certainly won’t be able to do is match the extra oomph of the PS5 Pro, if an enhanced edition is really real. This rumor comes from the X account of renowned Rockstar reporter @videotech, who posted a screenshot from a New Zealand PS5 listing the game’s release (November 18 there, because NZ exists almost a day in the future), showing the “PS5 Pro Enhanced” tag.
BREAKING: Pre-orders in New Zealand confirms Grand Theft Auto VI is PS5 Pro Enhanced pic.twitter.com/A1R4fsQYP0
— ben (@videotech) June 24, 2026
There’s no official word on this yet, but if it’s true you can be sure Sony will be boasting about it as loudly as it can as the marketing ramps up over the next five months. If only the Pros didn’t cost an eye-watering $900.