GTA 5 PS5 and Xbox Series X ray tracing update makes the game look better than ever
GTA 5 just got (another) glow up
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Ray traced GTA 5
🤩 The PS5 and Xbox Series X versions of Grand Theft Auto 5 support ray tracing
📺 The game’s latest update adds the snazzy reflection tech to Fidelity Mode
🌟 It’s made a massive difference to GTA 5’s visuals
😢 But you’ll be locked to 30fps, and PC players can’t get in on the fun
Grand Theft Auto 5 now features ray tracing on PS5 and Xbox Series X, after the crime’-em-up’s latest patch added support for the snazzy reflection tech.
“Ray-traced reflections have been added to Fidelity Mode for both PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, adding detail and contrast to the game world,” the patch notes read. “This allows for vehicles, characters, and more details to be shown on reflective and glossy surfaces.”
Fidelity Mode also supports 4K resolutions but limits the game’s frame rate to only 30fps. For that trade-off, ray tracing will drastically improve the details of reflective surfaces, such as those on cars, buildings and characters.
With the mode enabled, you’ll see your character’s reflection in car windows and puddles as you walk past, or that of your helicopter when you hover next to a window-clad skyscraper. As one Twitter user spotted, even vehicle wing mirrors use ray-traced reflections when the player (but only when the player isn’t driving, oddly).
Maybe the most impressive example of GTA 5’s new ray tracing support comes from the way light bounces off cars with a chrome paint job. Reflections from the tarmac, vehicles and pedestrians all look super crisp.
It’s a major visual update that really shows off what a powerful effect ray tracing can have. Sure, it isn’t enough to sling GTA 5 onto our pick of the best PS5 games or the best Xbox Series X games (partly because this is the same game that released on the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2013), but maybe it will earn an honorable mention one of these days. If only Rockstar would add it to the ranks of the few PS5 120fps games…
Unfortunately for PC players, ray tracing is only available on the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions of the game. Even if you have one of the best GPUs, there’s no option in the game’s PC settings to switch on the feature.
Super-accurate reflections aren’t the only tweak to come in this latest patch. Six new story missions have been added to GTA Online, alongside eight vehicles and “hundreds of pieces of male and female clothing and accessories”. To coincide with the game’s ongoing Drug Wars update, you’ll also be able to run your own acid lab out the back of an armored truck – now that’s some proper Grand Theft Auto content.