GTA 5's next-gen upgrade officially arrives on March 15, and since it is already March 15 in certain parts of the world, some people have already experienced what exactly is so different about it. More than some people actually. Some have tweaked their console regions in order to play a few hours early, and others have been taking in what are surprisingly stunning screenshots of the upgrade in action.
Surprisingly stunning because most of the build to the launch of the Enhanced & Expanded version of GTA 5 has suggested the game wouldn't look much better than it does already. Turns out Rockstar was simply keeping its cards very close to its chest, which is probably a pretty good idea considering what can happen during development of a game.
Screenshots are slowly starting to flood social media as more and more players get a first look at a crisper Los Santos. Comparison shots show off how good the upgraded game looks even when compared to GTA 5 running on PC with the best possible settings applied. How good fire and water looks in the upgrades has also been praised, as have the reflections and puddles after it rains in-game. A big step up from the remastered trilogy being unplayable in the rain a short while ago, that's for sure.
Despite how good the game looks, there are still some who believe this should have been a free upgrade. In fairness, the new version of GTA 5 is a lot cheaper than most people expected it to be. Although its regular price will be $40, you can currently get it for half that on Xbox, and for just $10 on PS5. It's cheaper on PlayStation since that price only includes the story mode. GTA Online is free to PS Plus subscribers for the next three months.
Nine years after it first launched, it seems GTA 5 is about to get new life breathed into it which will likely see its sales experience another major spike. Not that the game needs it. Despite almost a decade having passed, GTA 5's sales have never dropped off. The game is almost always in the top ten best sellers with each passing week and has sold more than 160 million units worldwide. Odds are that number will be a lot closer to 200 million the next time Take-Two publishes its quarterly numbers.