PS5 players may be getting GTA 5 for free when the latest Grand Theft Auto game comes to the next-gen PlayStation console next year. Earlier this year, Rockstar Games announced it was bringing an "expanded" and "enhanced" version of Grand Theft Auto V to not just PS5, but Xbox Series X sometime in 2021. At the time, Rockstar Games announced a slew of platform-exclusive bonuses for PS5, and it looks like it may add to this by making the game free on PS5 for everyone who owns it on PS4.
Word of the free upgrade comes way not of Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive, but French retailer Micromania, who included the game in a list of titles that have free PS4 to PS5 upgrades. Given that Rockstar Games has made no mention of a free upgrade or a lack thereof, this quickly began to make the rounds once noticed, prompting the retailer to remove the game from the list.
Now, it's possible this was nothing more than a mistake. After all, Rockstar Games hasn't mentioned a free upgrade for the game. It's possible it's holding this announcement, but there's no way of knowing this. However, retailers are sometimes privy to information that consumers are not. Is this the latest example of this? It's possible, but probably not. While retailers can be made privy to release and price information ahead of time, this specific detail doesn't seem like something Rockstar Games would disclose to a retailer.
As for a free upgrade on Xbox Series X, the retailer doesn't say one way or another. However, you'd assume a similar offer would be made for Xbox players, though maybe not given Rockstar Games and PlayStation's collaboration so far.
Unfortunately, Rockstar Games has not issued any type of comment or clarification on this possible leak, leaving fans with nothing but speculation. Of course, if it does provide a comment, we will be sure to update the story with whatever is provided.
For now, take all of this with a major grain of salt. While plenty of publishers and developers are going the free next-gen upgrade route, it's hard to imagine GTA 5 doing this simply for the reason that if it offered a free next-gen upgrade to everyone who bought the game on PS4 and Xbox One that would mean leaving untold millions on the table. After all, GTA 5 has sold nearly 140 million copies to date, many of which have been on PS4 and Xbox One.