I know that Grand Theft Auto 5 originally launched on PS3 and Xbox 360, but the idea of running it on Nintendo Switch is terrifying. It pushed its generation to the absolute limit and still sits on decade-old hardware, so running on a handheld seems like the perfect way to turn your console into a ticking bomb when you open the eShop mid-game. However, the models pulled it off.
Sure, it's choppy and runs at 20fps despite the cops removed from the prologue, but it looks surprisingly decent. On the scale of Mortal Kombat 1 to The Witcher 3, it certainly comes close to Geralt of Rivia's outing. It's certainly a far cry from the modders' attempt two years ago, which looked noticeably worse and crashed after a few minutes.
In a month from the main menu to the entire prologue
The effort is led by Mosjo, who have been documenting their progress on X since June 27, when they posted a picture of the main menu: “Soon (I hope).” They provided an update the same day, explaining that “rendering is still pretty messed up and the game crashes before actual gameplay.” So, earlier this month, they performed an incredibly scuffed scene in the prologue, with completely broken scenery and half of the screen blocking light.
A week later, they had already ironed out the kinks, showing GTA 5 gameplay on Switch with visuals and lighting mostly working as intended, a promising sign for the project. But the bombshell came last night when they confirmed that the game could now go beyond the prologue, a major milestone in making the game playable on handhelds. And no, the footage shown wasn't shot on an emulator, but a modded Switch OLED.
The goal right now is to have GTA 5 running at 720p, 30fps at very high settings “except textures”. The most relevant issue is the Switch's CPU limitations, not so much the GPU, which means “graphics can only be better.” As for file size, Mosjo predicts that the full game will clock in at around 70GB, but it depends on whether they're “stupid enough to want to even run GTA Online.”
Of course, this all depends on Rockstar playing nice and letting the project continue – which, as we've seen in the past, is a pipe dream. Especially when they go viral, within the project community. But for now, it's a fascinating experiment in what the Switch is capable of, and only GTA 5 Switch 2 goes to show that it's not all that far-fetched.
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September 17, 2013
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ due to blood and gore, intense violence, mature humor, nudity, strong language, strong sexual content, use of drugs and alcohol
- developer(s)
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Rockstar Answers
