Technically, Grand Theft Auto Online is alive and well on PC, receiving all the same updates the console versions of the popular online crime sim get, as they get them. Well, most of them. Because see, Rockstar has begun sneaking more and more exclusive features into the two next-gen console ports, leaving PC players both confused and frustrated.
GTA Online has done something no other online video game has: It’s existed across three different console generations, as well as on PC. Originally released on Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2013, it hopped over to PS4 and Xbox One in 2014 and finally landed on PC the following year.
Then in 2022, new versions of the game featuring improved visuals launched on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. However, while all these versions of the game are very similar and have even allowed players to transfer characters from one to another, they aren’t actually the same. And this has become more obvious in the last year, after the release of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S ports of the game. These versions got a load of cool and fancy new features while the PC version, once treated equally, has been left in a ditch.
The content GTA Online’s PC port is missing in 2023
In March 2022, after some delay, the next-gen versions of GTA Online launched on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. These improved versions of the game came with new ray-tracing visual options, a new career builder intro, and faster cars plus new time trials via Hao’s Special Workshop. And none of this was added (or has been added) to the PC version of the game.
Then, shortly after the release of these next-gen console ports, Rockstar announced GTA+, a paid subscription service for the game that rewarded players with monthly bonuses and rewards. Later, Rockstar added the Vinewood Car Club to GTA Online. The Club let players test drive and buy vehicles that may not be easily accessible otherwise, and all of these cars were discounted, too. Only GTA+ members could access this new part of the game. And, GTA+ is only available on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
And earlier this month, as part of GTA Online’s latest free update, Rockstar added a new and very smart career progress menu that lets players easily track what they have and haven’t done in the massive open-world game. And, even better, completing tasks and challenges in the career menu rewards players with various goodies, like in-game cash and items. It’s a wonderful feature, one of the best added to the game in years, and…well, you can guess this next part. Yup, this is also not in the PC version of the game.
GTA Online’s PC port deserves these updates
Now, to be clear: Rockstar is still adding most of the new content it creates for each GTA Online update to the PC and older console versions of the game. So you can play all the new San Andreas Mercenaries missions on PC, for example. But it’s odd that a platform as powerful as the PC isn’t receiving all the same content as the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S ports. I can almost understand some of this content skipping PS4 and Xbox One, like the faster cars, as that could be just a bit too much for those aging machines to handle.
But that argument goes out the window for the PC version of the game. The PC as a platform is always going to be more powerful, faster, and flexible than consoles, no matter how fancy and new those consoles might be. So not adding all this stuff to the PC port of GTA Online feels silly.
I don’t think the rumors that GTA Online on PC is ending are true. But I also can’t blame frustrated PC players for suggesting such a thing because, yeah, it does seem like Rockstar isn’t as invested in this version of GTA Online as it is in the latest console ports. That’s a shame for all the people who have invested years into this version of the game.
And unlike PS4 and Xbox One players who can eventually transfer their characters into the latest console ports to enjoy all the fun, PC players are trapped on that platform, waiting for Rockstar to remember they exist. Hopefully, Rockstar remembers to release Grand Theft Auto 6 on PC.