Grand Theft Auto 5’s new Expanded and Enhanced edition for next-gen consoles isn’t actually expanded, as it offers players no additional content. While the next-gen edition does offer an enhanced experience, as a remastered version of 2013’s GTA 5 that offers improved graphics, the “expanded” part of the new edition is lacking. This may be in part due to the announcement that Rockstar's GTA 6 is on its way, thus rendering additional content for its predecessor pointless. Players can now preload the upgraded version of GTA 5 onto their next-gen consoles ahead of its March 15 release.
Despite being over nine years old, GTA 5 has had a resurgence, largely thanks to the rise of Grand Theft Auto roleplay. GTA roleplay servers like NoPixel were incredibly popular in 2021, especially with live streamers, including xQc, one of Twitch's most popular streamers who often pulls in over 100,000 viewers per stream. Last year, GTA 5 streams collectively pulled in half a billion hours of watch-time across popular live-streaming platforms. GTA 5 was 2021’s most-watched video game on live streaming services such as Twitch, overtaking the previous leader - League of Legends.
So, how does GTA 5 Expanded and Enhanced edition differ from the standard edition? The new enhanced edition adds new graphics modes, tailor-made for PS5 and Xbox Series S/X consoles. When GTA 5 was released in 2013, it was supported on Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles; therefore, the newer version updates the game to match the capabilities of next-gen consoles. The enhanced edition adds three new graphics modes: Fidelity mode, Performance mode, and Performance RT mode. However, despite these graphics enhancements, GTA 5's next-gen enhanced and expanded edition falls flat when it comes to new content, failing to live up to its "expanded" namesake.
Fidelity mode boasts a full 4K resolution with ray-tracing; however, the game’s FPS will be capped at 30 FPS to support this. Fidelity mode is available on Xbox Series S with a caveat, offering upscaled 4K rather than the full 4K available on the higher-end Xbox Series X and PS5. Next up is Performance mode, which also offers 4K resolution but at an impressive 60 FPS. Performance mode has one catch - no ray-tracing. However, this is a sacrifice worth making to enjoy GTA 5 at 60 FPS. Finally, there is Performance RT mode, only supported on the cream of the crop of gaming consoles, the Xbox Series X and PS5. Performance RT keeps the 60 FPS of Performance mode but adds ray-tracing, forgoing full 4K for upscaled 4K.
While the graphical improvements offered by GTA 5 Expanded and Enhanced edition sound exciting, many were left wondering where the “expanded” part of its name comes into play. In addition to the three graphics modes, Rockstar has promised the next-gen version of GTA 5 will offer faster load times, better audio, and HDR options, but again, no additional content. For prospective buyers who own next-gen consoles, Grand Theft Auto 5's latest edition should be considered as an enhanced and improved version of GTA for next-gen consoles, not an expanded one.
