GTA 4 on PS5: the rumor, Rockstar's slip, and why it points to 2027
Grand Theft Auto IV has been stuck on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 since 2008, and for years the idea of a modern re-release was pure wishful thinking. That changed when one of the most reliable Rockstar insiders said a version for current consoles is in the works, and then Rockstar's own website appeared to back him up by accident.
None of it is official. The signals are real enough to be worth taking seriously, so it helps to separate what has actually been reported from what fans are hoping for.
Is GTA 4 coming to PS5? Nothing is confirmed, but the signals are real
Rockstar has not announced a GTA 4 port, a remaster or a release date, so anyone telling you it launches on a specific day is guessing. What exists is a credible insider report and a telling mistake on Rockstar's support site. Together they point to a modern GTA 4 being a genuine possibility, most likely as a cleaned-up port rather than a full remake, and most likely after GTA 6 rather than before it.
What the insider actually said
The report comes from Tez2, one of the most accurate Rockstar leakers, who posts on GTAForums and has a long record of correct calls on everything from GTA Online updates to unannounced projects. In 2025 he said his sources indicated Rockstar had a GTA 4 re-release in development, and had done for roughly a year. His key clarification is the part most headlines drop: this would be an upgraded port, not a ground-up remaster or remake. Picture a clean-up that makes the original run properly on modern hardware, rather than a rebuilt game.
The counter-signal deserves a mention too, because most coverage skips it. Fellow insider NateTheHate said he had never heard of the project. Two insiders disagreeing is a big reason this stays a rumor rather than a plan.
| Claim | Where it comes from | Status |
|---|---|---|
| GTA 4 re-release in the works for PS5 and Xbox Series | Insider Tez2, on GTAForums | Rumor from a reliable source, unconfirmed by Rockstar |
| It would be a port, not a full remaster | Tez2's own clarification | Rumor |
| GTA IV support page listed PS4 as a platform | Rockstar's own website | Real, then quietly removed |
| Launching in 2025 or 2026 | Aggregator headlines | Not backed by anything official |
Rockstar's own slip: GTA IV listed on PS4
The most concrete piece of evidence came from Rockstar itself. Its official support page for GTA IV, a game only ever sold on PS3 and Xbox 360, quietly listed PlayStation 4 as one of its platforms. The tag sat there long enough for players to notice, and once it started spreading online Rockstar removed the PS4 mention.
A support-page platform tag is not an announcement, and it could be a placeholder or a plain error. But a re-release aimed at current consoles would almost certainly carry a PS4 build underneath, exactly as the Red Dead Redemption re-release did, so the slip lines up with the rumor instead of contradicting it.
What a GTA 4 port would actually be: the Red Dead template
The best guide to what Rockstar would ship is what it just shipped. In December 2025 the original Red Dead Redemption got a native PS5 and Xbox Series version running at 4K and 60 frames per second with HDR, sold cheaply, added to the PS Plus Extra catalogue, and handed out as a free upgrade to anyone who owned the earlier port. A physical PS5 edition followed in Europe in May 2026.
That is the realistic shape of a GTA 4 re-release: the same Liberty City you remember, running smoothly at a modern resolution and frame rate, with the old online mode almost certainly left behind because its multiplayer services are long gone. It would not be the Definitive Edition-style rebuild some fans picture, and going by Tez2, it was never meant to be one.
Why you won't see it until after GTA 6
Rockstar's entire company is pointed at one date. As Take-Two has just reaffirmed to its shareholders, GTA 6 launches on 19 November 2026, and the whole business is built around it. An old-game port is not going to pull attention or staff away from that.
The timing that fits is later. On its May 2026 earnings call, Take-Two laid out a pipeline for the 2028 and 2029 fiscal years that includes six unnamed remakes, remasters and platform extensions. It did not say GTA 4 is one of them, but that slate, which analysts expect to cover the Max Payne remake and an eventual GTA 6 PC version, is the obvious home for a GTA 4 port. In plain terms: if it happens, 2027 or later is the realistic window, once GTA 6 is out of the door.
The "stunning GTA 4 remaster" going around is a mod, not Rockstar
If you have seen clips of GTA 4 looking dramatically better than 2008, with modern lighting and reflections, that is not a secret Rockstar project. It is the work of the modding community, most notably an RTX Remix mod that adds path-traced lighting to the PC version and reached a public release in late 2025. It looks fantastic and has nothing to do with any official re-release. Confusing the two is the single most common mistake in this whole story.
What you can play right now
An official port is not here, but the PC version is very moddable. The RTX Remix project is the showcase for a full lighting overhaul, and the long-running Fusion Fix mod on Nexus quietly repairs many of the original release's problems, from frame-rate issues to missing features. Neither needs Rockstar's blessing, and both are free.
What to watch next
The signals worth trusting are the official ones. A real GTA 4 re-release would surface as a store listing, an age-rating board entry, or a line in a Take-Two earnings call, not as another insider post. Until one of those appears, treat every "GTA 4 remaster confirmed" headline as what it is: a rumor with a good source attached. The clearest tell will simply be timing. Once GTA 6 is out on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, Rockstar's back catalogue is free to move, and that is when this rumor either becomes real or quietly fades.
