At PlayStation’s Future of Gaming showcase in 2020, where the PS5 was first revealed, it was announced thatGrand Theft Auto Onlinewould be free for PS5 owners at the time of the game’s next-gen launch. The graphic on-screen included a PlayStation Plus logo along with a note that PS Plus was required to play. Fast-forward to 2022, and Rockstar Games blog post mentioned thatGrand Theft Auto Onlinewould be “available for free for the first three months to PlayStation 5 players,” leading to some confusion.
The way Rockstar’s announcement was worded led some to believe thatGrand Theft Auto Onlinewould only be available to play for free for the first three months after its launch, and it not making any mention of PlayStation Plus also had fans scratching their heads. However, theconfusion surroundingGTA Onlineand its PS5 debuthas now been cleared up.
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It’s been clarified thatGTA Onlinewill be free for PS5 gamersto download and keepas long as they claim the game in the first three months of its launch. This means that any interested PlayStation 5 gamers will have from March 15 until June 14 to claim thePS5 version ofGTA Onlinefor their digital libraries.
Some may be wondering how PlayStation Plus fits into the equation. As it so happens, a PlayStation Plus requirement is not necessary to claimGrand Theft Auto Onlinefor one’s PS5 library, so it’s not technically one of thefree PS Plus games for March 2022. This is why there was mention ofGrand Theft Auto Onlinewhen Sony revealed the lineup of free PS Plus games for March, despite the fact that it’s going to be free.
But while aPS Plus subscriptionis not required for one to claimGrand Theft Auto Onlinefor PS5, it is required to actually play the game. Because of this requirement,GTA Onlinemight as well be a PS Plus freebie, but this way someone who may own a PS5 but let their PS Plus lapse could still claimGrand Theft Auto Onlinenow and then play it a later date when their subscription is active again.
GTA Onlinecoming to PS5 is just one part of the equation. It’s worth pointing out that theGrand Theft Auto 5story modeis also making the jump to new consoles, but it must be purchased and will not be available for free.
Grand Theft Auto Onlineis out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One with PS5 and Xbox Series X versions coming March 15.
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