‘GTA V’ PC Players Will Be Able To Use Their Existing Online Console Characters, Here’s How

Now that the official PC release date for Grand Theft Auto V has officially been set and Rockstar Games has begun taking pre-orders for the title, the developer has confirmed that fans will be able to transfer their existing GTA V online characters from any of the game’s console editions to the new PC version once it launches in March.

Sharing details on what users will have to do in order to transfer their GTA V characters to PC, the developer recently updated an informative article from the official Rockstar Support website to include information on how PC transfers will be handled within GTA Online.

The process for fans to move their online characters over to GTA V‘s PC edition is unsurprisingly similar to the steps required for fans that recently transferred their accounts from last-gen consoles to either the Xbox One or PlayStation 4. The entire process is made possible thanks to Rockstar Game’s Social Club, which will allow players to link up their various gaming accounts to prove ownership so that the transfer can be approved. To help gamers out, the developer created a list of everything that will be necessary to move GTA V online characters from consoles to PC.

“1.) A copy of Grand Theft Auto V on PC.”

“2.) Previous Grand Theft Auto Online character and progression data on PlayStation®3, PlayStation®4, Xbox 360 or Xbox One.”

“3.) A Rockstar Games Social Club account. If you do not already have a Social Club account, you will need to create a new one as part of the PC installation process.”

“4.)A PlayStation Network or Xbox Live account. If transferring from Xbox 360 or Xbox One, your Social Club account will need to be linked to the Xbox Live account used while playing GTA Online. If transferring from PlayStation®3 or PlayStation®4, your Social Club account will need to be linked to the PlayStation®Network account used while playing GTA Online.”

After the appropriate console account that houses users’ current GTA V character has been linked to the Social Club, fans merely need to start playing the game on PC. While logged into Rockstar’s Social Club, players will automatically be prompted to transfer their GTA Online data to PC the first time that they access the title’s online multiplayer mode and attempt to create a new character. If users have multiple sets of GTA V character data across multiple consoles, the will be given the opportunity to select which platform saves they wish to transfer.

Transferring online character data to the Grand Theft Auto V‘s PC edition doesn’t delete the character from the original platform. It instead will simply make a copy of that character on PC, leaving fans to continue to play from either system. However, character progress will become independent on each platform after the transfer is complete. For example, levels gained while playing GTA V on PC will not be applied to the PlayStation 4 edition of the game.

Rockstar Games has also officially opened up pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto V on PC, as reported by the Inquisitr. The developer confirmed that anyone that purchases the game from the Rockstar Warehouse before February 1 will receive a free digital game download. Rockstar also revealed that pre-order bonuses from other retailers should begin appearing online soon.

If you already own a copy of GTA V on consoles, do you plan to make the move to PC in March?

[Images via Rockstar Games]