GTA Online's pre-release version apparently runs via Xenia, the Xbox 360 emulator for PC

Some gamers have figured out a way to play GTA Online's pre-release version on Xenia, which is an emulator for playing Xbox 360 games for the PC. Astute players should know that Grand Theft Auto 5 was already playable via this tool, but its online multiplayer counterpart was much harder to configure and get up and running through it. Note that the pre-release version doesn't have any content from the Enhanced or Expanded and Enhanced ports of the title.

The GTAV TU10 Online Patched allows players to experience GTA Online in its classic state as of April 22, 2023, on Xenia. Note that the original official version of this game was discontinued on December 16, 2021. Some people might prefer the old-school style of this title, so let's look at fandom news about this topic.

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GTA Online's pre-release version is playable on Xenia

Twitter user @Tervel1337 shows an example of how gamers can play a pre-release version of GTA Online on Xenia just by removing an update.rpf+DLC file and using Byron's modded TU in place of it. Unsurprisingly, the player will get a notification on the bottom left about how the Rockstar cloud servers are unavailable.

This is not replicable in RPCS3 — a PS3 emulator — at the time of writing. Let's now look at a beta version of the online version of Grand Theft Auto 5 in the following clip, which includes content modern gamers won't recognize.

Here is a rundown of some interesting GTA Online pre-release features shown in the video above with the assistance of Xenia:

• Lifestyle: The Mom and Dad heritage options are still here, but this version also includes plenty of Lifestyle choices like Sleep, Friends and Family, and Legal Work that are no longer relevant. These options would add up to 24 hours, meaning you could've once allocated a lifestyle for your protagonist.
• Ranks' UI: Ranks look like a generic yellow Hexagon in the beta version.
• Unused Banks: Maze Bank is still around, but there were once two more banks you could use. Those two were Fleeca and The Bank of Liberty. Those unused establishments don't work in this beta version, while Maze Bank's UI is glitchy.
• Note about In-game purchases: The game doesn't check if the player has enough money to buy apartments, so you can buy those properties for free. This doesn't work when trying to buy cars.
• Heists' notification: There is a notification on how you can start heists in apartments, despite the fact that this feature for those jobs came out on March 10, 2015, several years after the pre-release version.

Obviously, certain exploits like modern GTA Online money glitches are not possible to attempt in this older build.

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It is possible to play this old version of GTA Online with others in Xenia

This tweet above shows an example of two gamers playing GTA Online's pre-release version together using Xenia. Previously, it was only playable solo, but fans can now experience this classic in a group setting.

Many undiscovered features likely await in the pre-release version of Grand Theft Auto Online since much of the recent discussions about this title only came out in the past few months to a small group of gamers.

In the meantime, readers could always check out the latest news with Grand Theft Auto 6 and other games within the franchise.