Rockstar Games showed off new footage and features from the expanded and enhanced versions of Grand Theft Auto Online and Grand Theft Auto 5 at Thursday’s PlayStation Showcase. We now know that the expanded and enhanced editions will include instant character switching, but we also learned the new release window is March 2022.
Rockstar Games had originally planned to release the new editions of the game on Nov. 11 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The developer originally announced that these editions would include “a range of technical improvements, visual upgrades and performance enhancements.” We got to see some of the gameplay footage at the PlayStation showcase, and it’s the usual mayhem that you might expect from Grand Theft Auto.
“While we are extremely excited to be bringing GTAV to the latest generation of consoles, the game requires a few additional months for polishing and fine-tuning,” Rockstar said in a blog on the developer’s official site. “We look forward to sharing more details about these expanded and enhanced versions soon, including the new standalone version of GTA Online also coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in March.”
Rockstar continues to update GTA Online, including large-scale heists like the island of Cayo Perico and the Diamond Casino. The most recent update, Los Santos Tuners, includes new cars and racing content. Los Santos Tuners was the first update to include elements exclusively for the newest generation of consoles, with some special car improvements only available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
The stand-alone version of Grand Theft Auto Online will be free on PlayStation 5 for the first three months after launch. This does not require Grand Theft Auto 5 to play, and just throws players in the online version of the sandbox mode.
