Grand Theft Auto 5 is back again, but fans do not seem all too pleased. Rockstar released a trailer for Grand Theft Auto 5 Expanded & Enhanced recently, along with the release date for the game on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. The updated version of the game that first released eight years ago now has a launch window of March of 2022 for the newest consoles. However, fans are frustrated with GTA 5 and are downvote bombing the official trailer that released yesterday.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is one of the highest-rated games of the decade and it originally released in September of 2013 on the Xbox 360 and PS3. The next year in 2014 a PS4 and Xbox One version launched, along with a PC version the following year in 2015. Since then, Rockstar has continued to support GTA Online across nearly a decade, even through the release of Red Dead Redemption 2. And now, the same game is about to release on a third-generation with the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S--much to the annoyance of some enthusiasts of the series.
At the time of writing this article, the PlayStation YouTube upload of the Grand Theft Auto 5 Expanded & Enhanced trailer has 16 thousand likes and 39 thousand dislikes, while the Rockstar upload on YouTube has 25 thousand likes and 40 thousand dislikes. The comments are flooded with fans who are disappointed both with the trailer and with the game itself. The features do not seem to be much of an upgrade over the PS4 and Xbox One versions, but also fans appear to be frustrated that Rockstar is nickel and diming GTA 5 by re-releasing the game yet again. Commenters are saying they do not want to be welcomed back to Los Santos yet again. They are accusing Rockstar of being greedy, out of touch, and reminding it that the game is simply outdated.
It is hard to believe that a single game has lasted through three generations of video game consoles. Other than a title that is more defined as a singular entity like a Minecraft-style game, there are few that would be expected to last this long. While it is not unreasonable to re-release a popular game for players to enjoy on multiple platforms, fans expect to have had other games released within that series in the meantime. The PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of GTA 5 would need to be a significant upgrade over the PS4 and Xbox One versions to make it worth it for many--but even beyond that--people are simply ready for the next big thing.
The huge question is where is Grand Theft Auto 6, as the release date seems years away. Rockstar appears to be spending its time on the continual support of GTA 5 and perhaps not on the next game, or at least not as fast as fans in the comments would like. If GTA 6 were around the corner and this enhanced version of GTA 5 was also being released right now for free for users who own the game, then people perhaps would be more accepting.
Grand Theft Auto 5 Expanded and Enhanced releases March 2022 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.