5 major technical improvements coming in the free GTA 5 PC upgrade
Rockstar Games recently announced the free Expanded and Enhanced upgrade for the GTA 5 PC version with plenty of new features. While most of the features have been there on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions for years, the Grand Theft Auto community is excited to finally try them on PC as well.
This article lists five major technical improvements that GTA 5 PC players will receive with the free upgrade on March 4, 2025.
Note: Some parts of this article are subjective and only reflect the writer’s opinions. The listing is not in any order.
5 notable technical improvements GTA 5 PC players will get with the free upgrade
1) PC-exclusive ray tracing features
According to Rockstar Games’ latest Newswire, GTA 5 PC players will get the following ray tracing features:
- Ambient occlusion
- Global illumination
- Ray-traced shadows and reflections
While the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of Grand Theft Auto 5 already have ray-traced shadows and reflections, the other two will be PC-exclusive features. These should make the 2013 title more visually pleasing.
2) Support for image enhancement technology
The Expanded and Enhanced version of the GTA 5 PC version will also support the following image enhancement technologies:
- AMD FSR1
- AMD FSR3
- NVIDIA DLSS 3
These features analyze low-resolution images and scenes and use artificial intelligence to reproduce the same in higher quality. The best thing is that the same features will also work on the GTA Online next-gen PC version.
3) Faster loading times
If your PC does not have high-end hardware, loading the current GTA 5 PC version can take a while. Even if you have the hardware power, the game tends to take a longer time to load at times. Rockstar Games will address this issue with the upcoming free upgrade, which will offer faster loading times using SSD and DirectStorage.
However, your PC must meet the necessary requirements to utilize this feature.
4) Better visual experience
So far, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of the 2013 title were said to offer the best visual experience. However, Rockstar Games aims to improve the PC version by adding the following features:
- Enhanced support for higher resolutions
- Support for higher aspect ratios
- Support for higher framerates
The AMD FSR and NVIDIA DLSS technologies will greatly help in this regard.
5) Support for DualSense controller
The native support for PlayStation’s DualSense controller will surely be a game-changer for GTA Online and GTA 5 PC players. Plus, the adaptive triggers on the gamepad will make driving and shooting experiences more enjoyable.
However, it is subjective as many players prefer turning off the controller haptics.
It is worth noting that the new technical improvements will surely require powerful hardware to operate efficiently. Therefore, Rockstar has released a list of specifications for the upcoming free upgrade. They are as follows:
Minimum system requirements:
- Operating system: Windows 10 (latest service pack)
- Processor: Intel Core i7-4770 or AMD FX - 9590
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1630 (4 GB VRAM) or AMD Radeon RX 6400 (4 GB VRAM)
- Storage: 105 GB, SSD required
- Sound card and audio: 100% DirectX 10 compatible
Recommended system requirements:
- Operating system: Windows 11
- Processor: Intel Core i5-9600K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600
- Memory: 16 GB Dual-channel configuration RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (8 GB VRAM) or AMD Radeon RX 6600XT (8 GB VRAM)
- Storage: 105 GB, DirectStorage-compatible drive
- Sound card and audio: Windows spatial sound-compatible audio system; solution containing Dolby Atmos support required for a Dolby Atmos experience
According to Rockstar Games, if your PC does not meet the above requirements, you can continue to play the current version of the game as usual.
Also read: 5 reasons to own Hangar in GTA Online in 2025