GTA 5 seemingly runs on Nintendo Switch but not in a way that fans expect it to be

Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 5 can run on a Nintendo Switch. According to a test by YouTuber Geekerwan (YouTube/@Geekerwan), the popular AAA title can be launched and played on the handheld portable console. However, it should be noted that the game does not run on the official firmware, as Rockstar Games has yet to officially port it to the popular gaming platform.

Geekerwan tested several other video games alongside Grand Theft Auto 5 and shared some feedback on its performance. Spoiler alert, the gameplay experience is not smooth at all.

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YouTuber runs GTA 5 on the Nintendo Switch using third-party firmware

On July 21, 2023, Geekerwan shared a video titled “We Turned Nintendo Switch into a Steam Deck, And Runs PC Games!” where they sideloaded the console with third-party frameworks to play video games designed for other platforms.

The YouTuber force-installed Linux on the Nintendo Switch and launched Steam Client to access its games. Once the client successfully loaded, they ran GTA 5 from it (timestamp: 20:30 minutes). It should be noted that the console’s hardware is yet to be officially verified to run the title, and the results were also seen in the process.

While Grand Theft Auto 5 loaded with a somewhat steady 60 frames per second, it dropped to 16 frames per second during the cutscene of the game’s intro. After that, it dropped even more and began to run on six frames per second during the Franklin & Lamar mission.

Since the Story Mode is already showing lags and jittery effects, GTA Online players should also lower their expectations as it may not even run in this state. The YouTuber said that the Nintendo Switch’s ability to launch and run the game is a remarkable thing in itself.

Although Rockstar Games ported the popular GTA title across three different generations of consoles, it shows no sign of releasing it for Nintendo Switch. Despite having a huge market to explore, the studio seems only to be focusing on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of the game.

The title is currently officially playable on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Steam Deck, with the latter being the only supported handheld console.