When Grand Theft Auto 5 came out on PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2013, it earned 7 Guinness World Records in just 24 hours. The last mainline installment in Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto series became the fastest entertainment product to gross $1 billion. Five years later, Grand Theft Auto 5 became the most profitable entertainment product of all time.
Eight years after it first launched, Grand Theft Auto 5 continues to be popular and successful, often sighted on the best-selling monthly lists of Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox stores. Rockstar Games seems to have no intention of stopping anytime soon, with the PS5 remaster of Grand Theft Auto 5 and Grand Theft Online launching in March of 2022. However, unlike its PS3/360 era launch, Grand Theft Auto 5 PS5 launch has many reasons to fall under the radar.
The Strong February/March 2021 Lineup and how it Impacts Grand Theft Auto 5 on PS5
There is an overwhelming number of highly anticipated PS5 games launching in the first quarter of 2022. Grand Theft Auto 5's PS3/360 September release window was surprisingly free of big AAA releases. While GTA's immense popularity would have primarily affected other games, vice versa was still possible to some extent. A busy holiday window could have benefitted Grand Theft Auto 5 in more ways than one, especially with the availability of a wide array of deals and bundles. A February release window is a different story altogether. Right now, Grand Theft Auto 5 PS5 launch finds itself in a polar opposite situation without the advantages of the holiday season and a lineup of highly anticipated game releases that feel next-gen and offer hundreds of hours of content.
FromSoftware's upcoming action RPG Elden Ring will finally release in January and should keep hardcore fans busy for a couple of weeks, if not more. Although FromSofware games are niche, Elden Ring may be more accessible to newcomers thanks to its open-ended design and seamless multiplayer integration. The next big PS5 exclusive, Horizon Forbidden West, is also set to launch in February of 2022 after suffering numerous delays this year. Being an open-world, Horizon Forbidden West should also keep players busy for weeks.
While Elden Ring and Horizon Forbidden West are two behemoths of early 2021, other big games could take the spotlight away from Grand Theft Auto 5 as well. Dying Light 2 was scheduled to release in the December of 2021 though a recent delay has pushed it out of the 2021 window to February of 2022. While Dying Light 2 delay may be a good decision for the game's polishing and optimization, its February launch may hinder its sales and the sales of the other titles launching in close proximity.
All the aforementioned games will be releasing in January and February of 2021 with a lot more to come in March. Games like Tiny Tina's Wonderlands and Saints Row pose a more direct threat to Grand Theft Auto 5 with the possibility of release dates clashing. Saints Row has been under Grand Theft Auto's shadow for quite a long time now, even though the franchise has garnered its own fan base over the years. There are plenty of things that Saints Row does better than Grand Theft Auto and the latest entry being a reboot, should overhaul few things for the better. Most importantly, Saints Row is an entirely new game built to take advantage of the next-gen features of PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, which is where most of Grand Theft Auto 5's issues lie.
Grand Theft Auto 5 May Not Feel Next-Gen in 2022
What truly set Grand Theft Auto 5 apart in 2013 was its ability to astonish players at every turn with its grand sense of scale and the freedom that came along with it. The draw distances made the landscape surrounding the metropolis of Los Santos feel almost life-like. The sheer amount of details in every character's clothes and movements brought Grand Theft Auto 5's world to life in a unique yet believable way that raised the visual bar for AAA games significantly. It was undoubtedly one of the best-looking games on PS3 and Xbox 360. In 2013, Grand Theft Auto 5 was the start of a new era of video games with photo-realistic visuals and a dynamic open world. Fast forward to 2022, and it seems that won't be the case.
Open-world games, both big and small, have significantly risen in the last decade, with Rockstar's own Red Dead Redemption 2 setting the bar unprecedently high in terms of visuals and immersion. Despite aging well, Grand Theft Auto 5 is still a video game that came out eight years ago. Sadly, the PS5 remastered version doesn't try its best of changing that as far as visuals and gameplay overhauls are concerned. The recent Grand Theft Auto 5 PS5 trailer backlash was also primarily due to the lack of significant improvements in the upcoming remastered version. Highlighting stuff like "seamless character switching" seems absurd in a generation where instant loading and fast travel in open-world games are to be the norm.
The biggest strength of Grand Theft Auto 5 on PS3 and Xbox 360 seems to be its biggest weakness on Grand Theft Auto on PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. The lack of transparency from Rockstar isn't a good sign either. Essential details like the pricing and performance remain a mystery, leading to more skepticism. It also doesn't help that the studio hasn't shown keen interest in providing a next-gen upgrade for Red Dead Redemption 2 or remaster Grand Theft Auto 4 and Red Dead Redemption, both of which are more in demand than a Grand Theft Auto 5 remaster.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is one of the best video games ever made, and its availability on current-gen consoles should be welcoming for newcomers. However, veteran Grand Theft Auto fans who were expecting a bit more from the next-gen version of an eight years old game are bound to be disappointed, which would ultimately affect the upcoming launch.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is available on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, with a March 2022 release planned for PS5.