With Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick recently noting that Rockstar doesn't like 'simple ports' and has confidence that Rockstar will make the new Grand Theft Auto 5 port very worthwhile, it begs the question of what Rockstar can actually do. Given Rockstar probably could've slapped together something incredibly basic for the launch of the new consoles, it's clear that the studio is taking its time to develop something worthy of a full-priced game.
Grand Theft Auto 5 got a bunch of substantial upgrades when it came to Xbox One, PS4, and PC. Some of these were small quality-of-life features, such as the ability to use the interaction menu in story mode for waypoints, equipping things like sunglasses on the fly, and more. Most notably, the remaster introduced a first-person mode which included new animations, a high-level of detail for weapons and car interiors, and even new control schemes. It was a pretty weird, but interesting new feature that gave players an all-new reason a game that a ton of people had already played.
It's clear Rockstar doesn't get lazy with its remasters. With that said, here are some things the company can do to make the new version of Grand Theft Auto 5 worthwhile beyond performance upgrades like faster GTA Online load times and 4K resolution.
Story DLC For GTA 5
Despite the massive success of GTA Online, Rockstar's stories are some of the most integral parts of its games. The original story of Grand Theft Auto 5 is filled with unique and massive setpieces, rich characters, and is just all-around engaging. The large-scale story was initially going to be expanded upon with at least one story expansion set to release about a year after the game's 2013 launch. No details were ever released and Rockstar just quietly acted like it never even announced it in the first place, outside of a couple of interviews many years later where developers said they just couldn't justify the resources between that, GTA Online, a new port, and Red Dead Redemption 2.
While Rockstar is undeniably working on Grand Theft Auto 6, it has acquired several studios in the last few years who could likely be used to help carry various workloads. Michael De Santa actor Ned Luke has expressed interest and even teased the possibility of a return to the retired bank robber. Rockstar has reportedly rolled a variety of ideas it had for story DLC into GTA Online content over the years, but that's not to say there's still unused ideas or new ones that could be created for a very special new series of missions.
At the very least, there's also cut missions that were made for the original game such as a heist where Michael and Trevor dress up as clowns to rob Martin Madrazo's home and kidnap his wife. Of course, this wouldn't work in the continuity of the game since Trevor still kidnaps his wife, but not with Michael. There could be a menu with "deleted missions" like a deleted scenes menu on a DVD, if Rockstar wanted to finish these cut Grand Theft Auto 5 missions or polish them up.
Red Dead Redemption 2's Customization Options
Rockstar's follow-up to Grand Theft Auto 5, Red Dead Redemption 2, was praised for a number of things. Not only was its story incredibly dramatic and emotional, but it also allowed players to really create the Arthur Morgan that they wanted. He could be fat, skinny, dirty, clean, raggedy, or well-kept. One player's Arthur could look like an unshaven homeless man and another's could be a fearsome gunslinger. Grand Theft Auto 5 has always felt a little tame on the customization, at least in story mode. Michael could only choose from about five hair styles and two beard styles, for example. Clothing was a bit more expansive, but certainly seemed just a bit lacking, especially in how a player could choose to wear it.
With rumors that the new version of Grand Theft Auto 5 will be using Red Dead Redemption 2's refined RAGE engine, perhaps it's not impossible to get some of that game's features such as dynamic hair growth. GTA 5 did feature some hair growth, but it was far more subdued and clearly just laying the foundation for what would come in Rockstar's ambitious western. There's also other things from Red Dead Redemption 2 that would be nice to see, such as choosing whether or not a shirt is tucked in, if a jacket is closed or opened, and other various styling methods to give the player more control over how their character looks. Some of this has been implemented in GTA Online in smaller ways, but it would be great to see Rockstar fully lean into it.
GTA Online Map Expansion
Former Grand Theft Auto producer Leslie Benzies, who is now developing GTA 6 rival Everywhere, previously noted that GTA Online was designed to expand its map quite a bit. "Well, one thing we've toyed with is [the ambition] to grow this world until it's *the world*. We're just going to add on new things to it, new places all the time. We've set this up so there are no limitations. The only limitation is the size of the disc and how much memory we've got. We could, if we wanted, simulate the entire world, different countries, whatever," said Benzies when speaking to CVG in August 2013, a month before the game released.
Outside of the Cayo Perico island, this hasn't exactly materialized quite yet, possibly due to scope or memory limits on consoles. With GTA Online splintering off into a standalone game later this year, it could be free to take players to new locations. Maybe it's something big like Liberty City or maybe it's something that already exists within the context of Grand Theft Auto 5, like the snowy midwestern state of North Yankton. There's also the possibility it's something more in the middle, like Las Venturas, which was previously seen in the original Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. If GTA Online is meant to last another console generation, it's time to allow players to move away from Los Santos.
GTA Online Cross-Play
Grand Theft Auto 5 launched long before cross-play was really a mainstream thing. Since then, games like Fortnite, Modern Warfare, and many other huge titles have allowed every platform to play together, making it a feature that's almost a given in any major new title.
Given the millions of active users with GTA Online, it seems like it's long overdue for cross-play. Right now, the way the game is built is a bit outdated and there's virtually no downside to allowing more people to play together.
A Grand Theft Auto 6 Teaser
It's no secret that a new Grand Theft Auto game is coming, and even though it may be a couple years away, what better way to start drumming up some actual hype than by including a teaser inside Grand Theft Auto 5? It doesn't have to be an actual trailer or anything super grand, but just something small. Perhaps a news report on the TV detailing a notable rise in criminal activity in Vice City with a brief but unsuspecting screenshot that gives fans a first look at the neon-drenched city, or a Lifeinvader social media page for the next protagonist buried away in the in-game internet browser.
It doesn't have to be anything huge, but even these small crumbs of information would drive fans crazy with speculation and signal that something is on the way. There is already some precedent of this, as evidenced in this YouTube video by Team LAG which shows how Max Payne 3 featured some screenshots for Grand Theft Auto 5 a year and a half prior to its release.