Rockstar Games Hasn’t Given Up On Last-Gen Versions Of ‘Grand Theft Auto V’ Just Yet


Like many titles that have come out over the past couple of years, Grand Theft Auto V is one of those games that was released on both last-gen consoles as well as newer platforms such as the Playstation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Despite originally appearing on older hardware a year before it would later become available for the new systems, Rockstar Games has since stopped releasing new content on last-gen editions of GTA V.

With Grand Theft Auto V reaching memory limits on the Xbox 360 and PS3, the developer was forced to stop bringing new features to the previous console generation. This meant that, as of earlier this year, the older versions of the game stopped receiving any of the new title updates or free DLC packs that have continued to hit current platforms.

GTA V: Buzzard Helicopter
Grand Theft Auto V’s Los Santos has been enjoyed across multiple console generations [Image via Rockstar Games]
With the lack of new content, many likely have assumed that Rockstar Games might have completely stopped supporting the Xbox 360 and PS4 editions of GTA V. However, the developer has once again proved that they are still concerned with improving the experience for owners of older platforms whenever they can. Rockstar Games kicked off this week by announcing the release of Title Update 1.29 on Twitter. The patch is available exclusively on last generation consoles.

On their official support website, the developer released a very brief set of patch notes that stated the new update added new “anti-cheat measures” to Grand Theft Auto V‘s online multiplayer mode. Without going into any specifics, Rockstar Games also mentioned that the new download also fixes several other known issues, but they didn’t disclose exactly what bugs were addressed. While this week’s new GTA V patch for the Xbox 360 and PS3 might have been a minor update, it shows that the studio still cares about last-gen users.

Grand Theft Auto V's First Person Camera Option
GTA V’s First Person camera option isn’t available on last-gen consoles [Image via Rockstar Gaems]
Rockstar Games first talked about having to stop adding content to the older versions of Grand Theft Auto V earlier this year while answering a series of community-driven questions about the launch of online heist missions. Simply put, the developer revealed that continuing to cram any more data onto the Xbox 360 or PS3 would begin to ruin the integrity of the game files.

“We always knew there might be a point where we would reach the technical capacity of what the older generation of consoles can handle as each downloadable update requires additional memory both for assets and for additional scripting. We have continued to optimize the entire game over time in order to squeeze as much memory as we possibly could out of the last-generation hardware and at some point, continuing to add content for those systems could cause the risk of instability to the game overall.”

Besides exclusively getting all new DLC updates, current-gen copies of Grand Theft Auto V also launched with a few core features that were absent from older versions of the game. In particular, the new editions of GTA V included a first person mode. Rockstar Games explained that, like new content updates, these features wouldn’t be possible on the antiquated consoles due to memory constraints.

“First Person Mode is a new feature that is only technically possible for us to add to the game with the expanded memory that the new generation platforms provide. There are thousands of new animations added to the game to facilitate First Person Mode, which would have been impossible to do on the previous generation of consoles without seriously compromising the game in some other capacity.”

While last-gen users can now download a new patch for the game, Rockstar Games is currently hosting a special online event within GTA V on the Xbox One, PS4, and PC. The Inquisitr detailed the celebration earlier this week, which is scheduled to last through this Sunday.

Are you still playing Grand Theft Auto V on either the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3?

[Image via Rockstar Games]

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