GTA 5 PS5 vs PS4: Every Difference That Matters

The PS5 version of GTA 5, released on March 15, 2022 alongside the Xbox Series X|S version, is the better way to play: it runs at up to 60 frames per second where the PS4 version is capped at 30, adds ray tracing and three graphics modes, loads far faster, and gives GTA Online content that PS4 never gets, led by Hao’s Special Works. Since June 18, 2026, it also costs nothing extra: anyone who owns GTA 5 on PS4 can download the PS5 version for free. The only real reason to stay on the PS4 version is to keep playing GTA Online with friends who are still on it.

The differences at a glance

	PS4 version	PS5 version
Resolution and frame rate	1080p, capped at 30 fps	Up to native 4K at 30 fps, or upscaled 4K at 60 fps
Graphics modes	none	Fidelity, Performance, Performance RT
Ray tracing	no	yes, in Fidelity and Performance RT
Loading into Story Mode	about 2 minutes (Digital Foundry)	about 20 seconds (Digital Foundry)
Controller	standard vibration	DualSense haptics and adaptive triggers
Audio	standard	Tempest 3D audio
Hao’s Special Works in GTA Online	no	yes
GTA Online sold on its own	no	yes
Price for PS4 owners	already owned	free upgrade since June 18, 2026

Graphics modes

Rockstar’s announcement laid out three modes on PS5 and Xbox Series X:

• Fidelity: native 4K with ray tracing, targeting 30 frames per second, for the best image.
• Performance: upscaled 4K, targeting 60 frames per second, for the most responsive play.
• Performance RT: a hybrid, upscaled 4K with ray tracing at a 60 frames per second target.

On Xbox Series S, Fidelity runs at upscaled 4K, Performance at 1080p, and there is no Performance RT mode.

Digital Foundry’s analysis puts the 60 frames per second modes at 1440p before upscaling, and names the frame rate as the single biggest upgrade: the PS4 version is capped at 30, and the higher frame rate also eases the game’s notoriously high input lag. The new version also swaps the old FXAA-style anti-aliasing for modern temporal anti-aliasing, which cleans up shimmering, and applies per-object motion blur throughout. Rockstar adds denser traffic and population, more vegetation, better lighting, shadows and water reflections, and new explosion and fire effects.

Not everything moved, though. Digital Foundry found geometry draw distance unchanged from PS4 in every mode, and the richer foliage limited to the 30 frames per second Fidelity mode. This is a clear upgrade, not a remake.

Loading and the controller

Loading is where the PS5 feels most different day to day. In Digital Foundry’s test, going from the main menu into Story Mode took about 20 seconds on PS5 against two minutes and eight seconds on PS4, and the PS4 version also needed an extra installation step of over an hour after download.

On PS5, the DualSense adds haptic feedback and adaptive trigger resistance for weather, road surfaces, explosions and directional damage, and the console’s Tempest 3D audio positions sounds around you. On Xbox Series X|S, the equivalent is Spatial Sound.

GTA Online: what PS4 does not get

The PS5 version of GTA Online has content the PS4 version does not:

• Hao’s Special Works. Hao runs a tuning shop at the LS Car Meet. You unlock it by taking his call and beating a time trial, then buy HSW upgrades for eligible vehicles, such as much faster acceleration and Chameleon paints. At launch the eligible cars were the Übermacht Sentinel XS, Shitzu Hakuchou Drag, Grotti Turismo Classic and Bravado Banshee, plus five new cars that were, at the time, exclusive to the new consoles: the Coil Cyclone II, Karin S95, Imponte Arbiter GT, Pfister Astron Custom and Pegassi Weaponized Ignus.
• HSW Races, Time Trials and Premium Test Rides built around those vehicles.
• The Career Builder for new or restarting players: pick one of four careers (Executive, Gunrunner, Nightclub Owner or Biker) and spend a GTA$4,000,000 windfall on properties, vehicles and weapons.
• A redesigned main menu that jumps straight into Freemode, Heists, Races and the week’s events, and a choice of session type.

Players who migrate a PS4 profile also receive a free HSW-upgraded Karin S95, the Cool Noise HSW Racing Suit and two Chameleon paints.

GTA Online itself was also sold on its own for the first time with this version, and it was free to keep on PS5 until June 14, 2022.

Transferring your progress

Story Mode: upload your save from the PS4 version through the pause menu (Game tab, Upload Save Game) to your Rockstar Games account, then download it on PS5. Only one save per platform is stored, and it stays available for 90 days.

GTA Online: the first time you enter GTA Online on PS5, the game offers to migrate your profile, and you can also do it later from the pause menu. It is a one-time migration covering characters, GTA$, progression, stats, vehicles, properties, weapons, clothing and created jobs. Purchased GTA$ only move within the same family, PS4 to PS5, while earned GTA$ move anywhere.

At launch, migrating deleted the PS4 profile. That is no longer the case: Rockstar’s support page now states the migrated profile is kept on PS4, but progress on the two versions is not synced afterwards.

Price, then and now

At launch the new-generation version listed at $39.99 on both PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, according to Game Informer and VGC, with launch discounts until June 14, 2022: $9.99 on PS5 and $19.99 on Xbox. The standalone GTA Online listed at $19.99. There was no free upgrade path for existing owners in 2022.

That changed on June 18, 2026. Rockstar now lets owners of any PS4 version download the PS5 version for free from its PlayStation Store page; disc owners need the disc in the console to verify ownership. On Xbox, owners of the digital Xbox One version get the Series X|S version free, while disc owners are left out because of platform limitations.

Which version should you play?

If you own a PS5, the PS5 version, with one exception: GTA Online sessions are split by version, so the PS5 version cannot join PS4-version lobbies. If your crew is still on PS4, you can run the PS4 version on your PS5 through backward compatibility and give up the upgrades while you play together. Our GTA 5 crossplay guide covers every combination, including PC.

On PC, the same choice exists between GTA V Enhanced and GTA V Legacy, explained in our Enhanced vs Legacy guide. For every date from 2013 to the free upgrade, see the GTA 5 release date guide.