Rockstar Locking Some GTA Online Car Upgrades To PS5, Xbox Series X/S

Grand Theft Auto Online for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S is set to include vehicle upgrades that won’t be available on older consoles, according to new details from Rockstar Games.

“Select vehicles will be upgradable with all-new speed improvements and more,” Rockstar wrote during its recent breakdown of the upcoming Los Santos Tuners expansion. “These special upgrades will be available only on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of Grand Theft Auto V.”

Despite being announced over a year ago, we’re still very much in the dark when it comes to what awaits us when Grand Theft Auto V comes to next-gen consoles on November 11. It’s a safe bet that the game, which was first released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 almost 8 years ago, is going to look a lot better and load a lot faster, but that only accounts for the “enhanced” part of Rockstar’s own “expanded and enhanced” description of the upcoming re-releases.

“The new generation versions of Grand Theft Auto V will feature a range of technical improvements, visual upgrades, and performance enhancements to take full advantage of the latest hardware, making the game more beautiful and more responsive than ever,” Rockstar explained at the time. Official word on the next-gen releases has been similarly vague ever since.

As is often the case, fans have taken umbrage with the idea of Grand Theft Auto Online content being locked to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, with some calling the move a “greedy” one on Rockstar’s part. It certainly doesn’t help that those consoles are still so damn hard to find.

If not for the console shortage, however, this would line up with past changes to the long-in-the-tooth game. After all, Rockstar phased out Grand Theft Auto Online updates on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 altogether in 2015 to focus on the then-new versions of the game on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It’s only a matter of time before PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S become the studio’s sole prerogative.

Still, it can be hard to see a game you’ve sunk so much time into go the way of the dodo. Grand Theft Auto Online may continue to thrive on the previous console generation, but this tiny aside on next-gen-exclusive content is probably a good indication that its days are numbered.