Rockstar Games has finally released the long-awaited Enhanced Edition of Grand Theft Auto V for PC, three years after its debut on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. While the update brings some impressive visual enhancements, many players are frustrated by performance issues, particularly low FPS, and other controversial changes.
Rockstar has a history of delaying PC releases. GTA 5 originally launched in 2013 for Xbox 360 and PS3, but PC players had to wait until 2015. Now, the Enhanced Edition has followed the same trend, arriving on PC years after console players first experienced its graphical improvements.
Ray-Tracing and Other Enhancements
One of the most significant upgrades in the Enhanced Edition is ray-tracing, which improves reflections, shadows, and lighting. Players will notice:
- More realistic reflections on buildings and vehicles
- Improved global illumination, making sunlight interact more naturally with environments
- Enhanced flame animations, emitting more light
- Dynamic glow from fluorescent clothing
- Longer-lasting smoke effects from spinning tires
- Greater shadow render distance, making environments look more natural
GTA V Enhanced pic.twitter.com/JrIRFdXdtM
— G-Assassin (@G_Assassin90) March 4, 2025
Additionally, Rockstar has introduced Dolby Atmos support for enhanced audio and adaptive trigger compatibility for the DualSense controller.
Performance Concerns and Player Backlash
Despite these improvements, many fans feel the update is underwhelming and poorly optimized. A major complaint is the significant drop in FPS, with reports indicating a 25-50% performance decrease in similar scenes compared to the previous version. Even high-end systems struggle to maintain smooth gameplay with all enhancements enabled.
While Rockstar has included FSR 3 and DLSS 3 upscaling to mitigate the FPS loss, not all players have hardware that supports these technologies. Additionally, frame rates are capped at 120 FPS, a limitation that disappoints those with high-refresh-rate monitors.
GTA 5 (2015) used to have 187FPS limit due to audio engine limitations, exceeding that, caused insane stutters.There is a third party mod to fix that, Rockstar's solution for their brand new "Enhanced" edition?Make a hard 120FPS cap pic.twitter.com/asneVpptkV
— HiTzz (@gerulis20) March 4, 2025
Other criticisms from the community include:
- Inconsistent ray-traced reflections, which don’t apply to all surfaces and appear lower-resolution than expected
- No major improvements in loading times, even on SSDs
- Blurry textures, despite the graphical upgrades
- The removal of Multi-Sampling Anti-Aliasing (MSAA), a technique that improves visual sharpness but requires high performance
- Temporary removal of text chat in GTA Online
- Modding issues, requiring updates for compatibility and workarounds for custom saves
Is It Worth the Upgrade?
While the Enhanced Edition delivers noticeable visual improvements, it comes at the cost of higher hardware demands and gameplay limitations. Many players feel Rockstar could have optimized the update better, especially after such a long wait. However, given GTA Online’s status as a live-service game, it’s likely that Rockstar will roll out further updates and patches to address some of these concerns. Whether that will be enough to satisfy disappointed fans remains to be seen.
What do you think of the GTA 5 Enhanced Edition on PC? Has it met your expectations, or do the performance issues outweigh the benefits?