GTA 5 on PC: Legacy vs Enhanced, Steam, Epic and release date

The PC version of GTA 5 was announced at E3 in June 2014, alongside the PS4 and Xbox One versions. Consoles got the game on 11/18/2014, while Rockstar delayed the PC version three times: to 01/27/2015, then to 03/24/2015 and finally to 04/14/2015. So if you are asking "when is GTA 5 coming to PC", it has been there for more than 11 years.

Console dates and the full delay history are on the GTA 5 release date page.

When you buy GTA 5 on Steam, the store only shows "Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced". The Legacy page still exists but has no buy button: the old version is added to your Enhanced purchase. The Epic Games Store works the same way, one purchase for two versions. In your library they are two different games that install separately.

• Enhanced has ray tracing, DLSS 3, FSR 3, DirectStorage, Dolby Atmos and DualSense adaptive trigger support. It takes 105 GB and needs an SSD.
• Legacy is the original 2015 PC version. It takes 125 GB but runs on old machines with 4 GB of RAM.
• Both include story mode and GTA Online, but Legacy and Enhanced players never end up in the same sessions.

The rule is simple: if you have an SSD and a GTX 1630 or RX 6400-class graphics card or better, run Enhanced; on a weak laptop, stay on Legacy. You do not need both installed. The exception is roleplay: FiveM worked only with Legacy for years, and its Enhanced client only arrived in early access on 07/21/2026, so some servers still require the old version (see GTA RP). A full PC vs console comparison is on the GTA 5 platforms page.

Your story save moves through Rockstar's servers:

1. Link your PC account (Steam, Epic) to your Rockstar Games account.
2. In Legacy, open the pause menu, go to the Game tab and upload your save.
3. In Enhanced, download it from the Story tab on the landing page; if you already have saves in Enhanced, use the Game tab in the pause menu.

You can upload one save, and you can keep updating it until it is downloaded into Enhanced. Once it is downloaded, the choice is final.

Your GTA Online character migrates separately: in Enhanced, pick Online on the landing page (or use the pause menu if you have already played) and confirm the profile migration. The rules from Rockstar Support:

• migration is one-time and cannot be undone;
• your Legacy character is not deleted, but progress no longer syncs between the versions;
• unspent GTA$ you earned in Enhanced before migrating is lost, so migrate before you start playing Enhanced;
• banned profiles or profiles with too little progress cannot be migrated.

Saves from PS4, PS5 or Xbox cannot be moved to PC, and PC saves cannot be moved to consoles.

We took these prices from Steam on November 9, 2026; there were no discounts that day.

Epic and the Rockstar Store show prices for your own country, so compare them there. There is no legal way to get "GTA 5 free on Steam": the game was only free for one week in May 2020 on the Epic Games Store, and copies claimed back then stayed in people's libraries. Sites offering "free keys" sell stolen or region-locked codes. PlayStation and other countries' prices are on the GTA 5 price page.

Whichever store you use, GTA 5 on PC runs through the Rockstar Games Launcher and needs a Rockstar Games account (Social Club). Steam or Epic only open the launcher, and the launcher starts the game. Two practical tips follow from that:

• do your first launch online and sign in to the same Rockstar account your GTA Online character is linked to;
• change the game language in the Rockstar Games Launcher settings (Settings → General), or in the Epic settings before launch for the Epic version. Supported languages are listed on the GTA 5 languages page.

Since September 2024, GTA Online on PC has been protected by the BattlEye anti-cheat. Third-party programs that modify the game put you at risk of a ban online. Keyboard cheat codes for story mode are on the GTA 5 PC cheats page.

In March 2025, Valve rated GTA 5 Enhanced "Playable" on Steam Deck. Story mode runs, GTA Online does not: BattlEye is not supported on Steam Deck. The same applies to Linux.

The Enhanced minimum is an Intel Core i7-4770 or AMD FX-9590, 8 GB of RAM, a 4 GB GTX 1630 or RX 6400 and 105 GB on an SSD. Legacy needs only a Core 2 Quad Q6600, 4 GB of RAM and 125 GB on any drive. On a laptop, make sure the game runs on the dedicated graphics card. Full tables and tips for low-end PCs are on the GTA 5 system requirements page.