5 things Rockstar should improve about GTA 5 in the Expanded and Enhanced Edition

Rockstar Games pretty much dropped a nuke-size announcement during the PS5 reveal event when they unveiled their next release - a remaster of GTA 5. Fans weren't too excited at the prospect of an "expanded and enhanced" edition of a game that had already been remastered once and is fairly enjoyable in its current state.

Released in 2013, remastered in 2015 for the PS4/Xbox One, GTA 5 is arguably one of the most quintessential games on last-gen consoles. Thus, it begged the question of whether Rockstar needed to revisit the title. Many presume that the publisher will be making significant changes, especially regarding the "expanded" part of the title.

While Rockstar has not revealed much information since its announcement in 2020, the following are some things the studio should improve on in GTA 5.

---

5 improvements needed in the GTA 5 Expanded and Enhanced Edition

1) Better loading times

Loading screens have been a pain for GTA Online players and Story Mode fans for as long as the game has been around. At the same time, it is understandable that the game will have a significant amount of loading time when first booting. There are far too many loading screens all the time to justify its presence.

Plus, next-gen hardware should ideally cut download times, and Rockstar should capitalize on it. The publisher must also find a way to eliminate the need to load back into Story Mode if a GTA Online session runs into network trouble every time.

2) RAGE

The Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) has powered all of the studio's games post-2006 and is one of the coolest game engines around. GTA 5 featured a rather advanced version of RAGE, which was loved by fans across the board, especially when it came to lighting and weather effects.

2018's Red Dead Redemption 2's version of RAGE pretty much dunked on GTA 5 in a major way, absolutely trumping the previous iteration. Fans expect the remastered version of GTA 5 to utilize the version of RAGE from Red Dead Redemption 2, which should be a no-brainer.

While that is the popular choice, perhaps there are perhaps more complications to that decision that fans might not know of.

3) Expand on Story Mode

In 2015, GTA 5 was scheduled to be re-released for the PS4/Xbox One and PC. The game was initially only released for the PS3 and Xbox 360, and quite clearly, could use a little touch-up for new consoles and PCs. That particular version of the game was then titled "Enhanced Edition."

So now, in 2021, when Rockstar titles their upcoming remaster as an "Expanded and Enhanced Edition," fans are expecting much more from it. The 2015 version included things like a new First-Person mode, new radio stations, graphical improvements, and other such things.

Can Rockstar drop an expansion for GTA 5? Only time will tell. But an "Episodes from Liberty City" style expansion would absolutely be a massive hit with the fans.

4) Crossover between Story Mode and Online

GTA Online has transcended its previous boundaries as a prequel and is now in proper sequel territory. Even referencing the events at the end of the Story Mode, which pretty much confirms that the game takes place in current times.

What is even more intriguing is that it now opens up possibilities for more crossovers. Plenty of characters from Story Mode have made their way online and should continue to do so.

Perhaps the aforementioned "Expansion" could help tie the story together for both games and bring the GTA Online protagonist into the fold with the trio from Story Mode.

5) More vehicles and weapons for Story Mode

GTA Online has done a great job of introducing new vehicles and weapons to the game, many of which teeter on the "sci-fi" side of things. Yet Story Mode remains exactly how it was back in 2015.

While no one suggests that Story Mode suddenly becomes Saints Row with all the flying Oppressor MKIIs, it could use some new fast cars. GTA 5's Story Mode collection is pretty expansive, but if there's one thing fans love more than anything else, it's fast cars and big tanks.

Additionally, new creative weapons from Online could be a great addition for fans of the single-player mode.