Rockstar’s new and improved version of Grand Theft Auto 5 isn’t going down well on Steam following its launch earlier in March.
Grand Theft Auto 5 Enhanced, which released on March 4, has a ‘mixed’ user review rating on Steam, with 54% of the 19,772 user reviews flagged as positive.
To put that into context, the original GTA 5 on Steam, now unlisted at the request of Rockstar Games and as a result unable to appear in search on Valve’s platform, has a ‘very positive’ user review rating on Steam.
In fact, GTA 5 Enhanced is currently the worst user-reviewed GTA on Steam, with its closest competitor for the unwanted crown, Grand Theft Auto III – The Definitive Edition, on 66% positive reviews.
GTA 5 Enhanced is a free upgrade for GTA 5 on PC that includes sought-after features previously only available in the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S versions of GTA Online — including all the latest vehicles and performance upgrades available at Hao’s Special Works, animal encounters, and access to purchase a GTA+ Membership — along with improved graphics options and faster loading times. All players who currently own GTA 5 on PC can upgrade to this new version for free, with the ability to migrate your Story Mode and Online progress.
You’d think that would be a relatively straightforward process, but it appears the account migration isn’t working as intended for many players. Indeed, account migration problems are at the heart of most of the negative reviews flagged as ‘most helpful.’
“ ‘The GTA Online profile associated with this Rockstar Games account is not eligible for migration at this time,’ ” reported one disgruntled player. “If you think I’m throwing away nearly 700 hours of gameplay on one character so that you can make a few more bucks off me, then you can lick my anal orifice clean.
“This is an objective downgrade from the ‘old’ version. Gonna pretend this was never released and continue to enjoy Legacy version until the new game comes out when I’m 60.”
“I’m leaving a negative review mainly due to Rockstar deciding that some accounts should arbitrarily not be able to migrate, and if you ask for help from support, they just say they can’t do anything about it,” reads another.
“I can’t migrate either of my two accounts,” another negative review reads. “R* support is completely useless and can’t help. With the game being over 10 ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ years old I am sure as hell not going to completely restart all my progress in Online just to get marginally better graphics (if that) and HSW and whatever other minuscule ♥♥♥♥ they added.”
Despite these issues, GTA 5 Enhanced remains one of the most-played games on Steam, with a 187,059 peak concurrent player count since launch. But it has sparked concern over the inevitable PC release of Grand Theft Auto 6, with some PC gamers worrying that Rockstar’s struggles with GTA 5 Enhanced could signal launch trouble down the line.
GTA 6 is planned for launch during the fall of 2025 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S only, leaving PC gamers out in the cold. In December 2023, a former developer at Rockstar attempted to explain why GTA 6 is coming to PC after it hits console, and called on PC gamers to give the studio the “benefit of the doubt” over its controversial launch plans.
We’ve got plenty more on GTA 6, including Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick’s response to concern about the fate of GTA Online once GTA 6 comes out. Meanwhile, Take-Two has sued online marketplace PlayerAuctions, alleging it contains “thousands of listings for unauthorized, infringing GTA 5 content – including heavily modified player accounts, in-game assets, and virtual currency – all gained by using hacking software, cheats, and technical exploits.”
And in other news, Rockstar recently acquired Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition developer Video Games Deluxe and renamed it Rockstar Australia.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
