It looks like Rockstar decided to delay its Grand Theft Auto V release for PC. The game is available for for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 but the PC release misses its deadline. Now, GTA V is expected to make its way on the PC in March.
Rockstar revealed the new release date to be March 24th instead of the original date that was January 27. The new date is two months later from the original planned date and four months from when a remastered edition of the game was launched for next-gen consoles. Grand Theft Auto V was launched for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in September 2013.
Rockstar apologized for the delay and talked a little about what gamers can expect from the PC version. The developers emphasized on the campaign in GTA V but the main reason people are excited about the PC version is because GTA Online. GTA Online features the mechanics of Grand Theft Auto in a multiplayer world and the PC version is going to get some important upgrades. 30 users will be able to play together in GTA Online and Rockstar promises that the game will run at 1080p at 60 frames per second, but of course, you would have to have a beast of a PC to be able to run the game in Full HD, but we’ll get to that later. The game will also be able to support three monitors for players who wish to have a 160 degree view of what is happening around them.
GTA Online features numerous activities for gamers. People will be able to make their own characters, rob places and perform other actions to earn money in order to afford hideouts, better cars and better weapons. Rockstar presented Heists last year, which is a way to earn money when players team up with their friends to take on more complex and bigger missions. Rockstar said that Heists will be available the moment GTA V will launch for PCs.
A lot of attention is focused on the ability to create your own character in GTA Online but Rockstar has also made available a very impressive sandbox for its gamers in which users can create their own world. It looks like PC users will get a pretty impressive package. However, by the time the game will see the light of day, most gamers would have already had the chance to play the single player campaign and multiplayer on four other devices. Of course the game will look better than its brothers on consoles but it’s pretty uncertain how many people will buy the game just because of its looks.
Rockstar said that moving a release date is not a very easy decision to make but the studio is certain it is the best possible solution in order of providing the best possible game. They also thanked everyone for their patience and assure everyone that these few extra weeks of waiting time will be worth it when GTA will eventually make its way on PCs.
The PC version will also support 30 players in GTA Online just like the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions that launched in November 2014. The PC version will also include, right out of the box, the component called Heists which is expected to also hit the consoles the moment this version will launch in March 24 (supposedly).
In the meantime, Rockstar revealed the minimum and recommended PC specs that are required in order to play the game. At minimum, users will need a quad core processor clocked at 2.5GHz at least and 4GB of RAM. The ideal way to play the game, however, will require an Intel core i5 running at 3.2GHz and 8GB RAM. The install size of the game will be 65GB.
The developers also claim that the Windows version will be able to support 4K resolution at 60 frames per second and Nvidia 3D Vision.
The official PC requirements for Grand Theft Auto 5 as claimed by Rockstar are the following:
Minimum:
OS: Windows 8.1 64 Bit, Windows 8 64 Bit, Windows 7 64 Bit Service Pack 1, Windows Vista 64 Bit Service Pack 2* (*NVIDIA video card recommended if running Windows Vista)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs) / AMD Phenom 9850 Quad-Core Processor (4 CPUs) @ 2.5GHz
Memory: 4GB
Video Card: NVIDIA 9800 GT 1GB / AMD HD 4870 1GB (DX 10, 10.1, 11)
Sound Card: 100% DirectX 10 compatible
HDD Space: 65GB
DVD Drive
Recommended:
OS: Windows 8.1 64 Bit, Windows 8 64 Bit, Windows 7 64 Bit Service Pack 1
Processor: Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2GHZ (4 CPUs) / AMD X8 FX-8350 @ 4GHZ (8 CPUs)
Memory: 8GB
Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 660 2GB / AMD HD7870 2GB
Sound Card: 100% DirectX 10 compatible
HDD Space: 65GB
DVD Drive
Grand Theft Auto V first launched in September 2013 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and shipped 34 million copies. In November, GTA V launched for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 and sales are very strong as the game was the second best-selling title in the United States in November 2014.
We can’t help but be reminded of the Grand Theft Auto IV fiasco. When the old GTA eventually launched on PCs it was very buggy and ran badly on even the more capable PCs at that time. GTA IV eventually received updates and patches that made it playable but when it first launched it wasn’t stable at all and Rockstar was accused of laziness by all fans around the world. We sincerely hope they have learned from their mistake and that they won’t put their fans through such kind of a torture again.
Grand Theft Auto V was appreciated by all when it first surfaced and had received perfect and near-perfect scores all around. The game scores 97 on Metacritic and got a perfect 10 from IGN. It’s not hard to see why. GTA 5 offers memorable missions, incredible heists and is filled with amusing content and a world that is genuinely immersive. It’s probably the best GTA we’ve seen so far, Rockstar making their best to polish the game in such a way that it will be played for many years and also be enjoyed by non-GTA fans as well.
Long story short, Grand Theft Auto V was delayed and we really hope it’s worth it.
Images source: rockstargames.com
