Is GTA 5 & GTA Online crossplay? PC, Xbox & PS5 cross-platform explained

Liam Mackay
Official artwork for GTA Online featuring a crashed helicopter

GTA 5 and GTA Online have amassed millions of players on different platforms including PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. If you and your friends want to play together, here’s everything to know about whether GTA 5 and GTA Online have crossplay.

Crossplay has become a common feature among popular multiplayer games such as Diablo 4, Fortnite, Minecraft, and more. Naturally, players are interested in knowing whether GTA Online, another multiplayer game with a massive community, supports the feature.

On that note, here’s whether GTA Online and GTA 5 support crossplay.

Does GTA 5 & GTA Online have crossplay?

Despite being available on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation, GTA Online and GTA 5 do not feature crossplay, meaning you can’t join friends on other systems.

Can you play GTA Online with people in the same system family?

Yes, you can play GTA Online with people using systems in the same console family, despite the game not having full cross-platform play capabilities.

That means if you have an Xbox Series X, but your friends own Xbox Ones, you can still jump into lobbies together. The same applies to those who own PS4s and PS5s. However, you’ll need to ensure you’re that playing the same version of the game.

Can I play GTA Online on PC with friends using different launchers?

Yes, if you are on PC, you can seamlessly play GTA Online with other PC players, regardless of the launcher they own GTA 5 on.

Despite the game being available on various PC launches such as Steam, Epic Games, and even Rockstar’s launcher, the crossplay functionality allows you to connect and play together across the all launchers.

Why doesn’t GTA 5 have crossplay?

When Rockstar’s GTA 5 and its online mode first launched in 2013, crossplay was a mere fantasy for gamers. This was nearing the end of the Xbox 360 and PS3’s lifecycles and various agreements between Xbox and PlayStation prevented crossplay from being a reality.

GTA 5 then launched on the Xbox One and PS4 in 2014, and the PC edition came a year later in 2015. This was still before crossplay became something gamers expected from new releases.

GTA Online characters posing with guns and masks
Role-playing in GTA Online servers is still massively popular.

Cut to 2018, and Fortnite set the bar for crossplay across games. For the first time, PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and even Nintendo Switch and mobile had crossplay functionality. This has now become the standard for multiplayer games, but GTA Online has yet to make the jump.

Never mind the coding required, a significant amount of balance tweaks need to be made for a game to fairly become cross-platform. If you’re on PC, you can take advantage of higher graphics and framerates. Consoles give you access to aim assist, and these all need to be considered to make a fair playing field.

A lot of work would likely need to go into making GTA Online cross-play, and this doesn’t coincide with developers’ current plans for the game.

Will GTA 5 & GTA Online ever get cross-platform play?

While some Grand Theft Auto fans hoped the release of the Expanded & Enhanced Remaster of GTA 5 would bring crossplay, this is not the case.

With the game now rolling out across regions, this was likely the last chance Rockstar had to add cross-platform play to the game. Rockstar are now focused on GTA 6, which makes it unlikely that crossplay will be added to GTA Online in the future.

Will GTA 6 have crossplay?

At the moment of writing, there’s no hint about the introduction of the crossplay feature in the upcoming GTA 6.

On December 2023 Rockstar have released the first trailer for GTA 6, providing fans with a brief introduction to Jason and Lucia. So is still a long time before we find out if Rockstar will finally introduce the cross-platform in GTA 6.

That’s everything to know about the crossplay functionality in GTA Online. For more content on the game, you can check out:

How to get the $1.9 Million Panther Statue in GTA Online | GTA Online Prize Ride vehicle | How to create and change license plate in GTA Online | How to emote in GTA Online | How to use Hao’s Special Works in GTA Online | All new vehicles in GTA Online Chop Shop update

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About The Author

Liam is CharlieIntel's Editor. After graduating in Journalism from Edinburgh Napier University, Liam made use of his passion for FPS games, including Call of Duty, by writing for sites such as The Nerd Stash, Red Bull Gaming, and GAMINGbible before joining CharlieIntel in November 2020. You can contact Liam at [email protected].