Rockstar have taken the decision to delay the PC release of GTA V once again (oh well, it happens to every GTA). This time the date has slipped another two months to the 24th March, reasoning that more time is needed for final testing and polish. Some of the more cynical readers may be aware that this is when Rockstar's fiscal year ends, which pushes GTAV's sales into the next fiscal year... Though one wonders why it wouldn't have been delayed until March in the first place. Regardless of the real reasoning (it's kind of irrelevant at this point), fans will be expecting nothing short of a flawless port now. Judging by the system specs revealed today that might actually be a reasonable expectation. Some recent major titles have had very high spec requirements meaning only the latest powerful computers had a chance of running the game smoothly, but Rockstar seem to be making a decent effort to make sure as many people can play GTA V as possible.
If you have a PC or laptop bought or built within the last year or two you'll most likely be fine, anything older will probably struggle. Specs have been included at the end of this post, but if you're not sure you'll be able to play it, feel free to ask in our forums for suggestions or recommendations.
Details
4K Screenshots
The first six screenshots of GTA V for the PC have been released in their full 4K resolution. Click the thumbnails to see them in all their glory, they're also on our new dedicated page for GTAV PC screenshots. Be warned if you have a slow connection they'll take a while to load, each screenshot is 5-10MB in size.
Minimum specifications
OS: Windows 8.1 64 Bit, Windows 8 64 Bit, Windows 7 64 Bit Service Pack 1, Windows Vista 64 Bit Service Pack 2* (*NVIDIA video card recommended if running Vista OS)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs) / AMD Phenom 9850 Quad-Core Processor (4 CPUs) @ 2.5GHz
Memory: 4GB
Video Card: NVIDIA 9800 GT 1GB / AMD HD 4870 1GB (DX 10, 10.1, 11)
Sound Card: 100% DirectX 10 compatible
HDD Space: 65GB
DVD Drive
Recommended specifications
OS: Windows 8.1 64 Bit, Windows 8 64 Bit, Windows 7 64 Bit Service Pack 1
Processor: Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2GHZ (4 CPUs) / AMD X8 FX-8350 @ 4GHZ (8 CPUs)
Memory: 8GB
Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 660 2GB / AMD HD7870 2GB
Sound Card: 100% DirectX 10 compatible
HDD Space: 65GB
DVD Drive
DRM and other requirements
The literal small print tells us that GTA V for PC will unfortunately feature some unspecified DRM and enforce various other requirements, including the need for an internet connection to activate the game, for online play (obviously) as well as periodic entitlement verification. You'll also need a Social Club account.