Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto 5: Enhanced Edition has hit an unexpected low, earning the title of being the lowest-rated game in the company’s history on Steam. Launched on Mar. 4, 2025, as a free upgrade for PC players who owned the original GTA 5 (now dubbed the “Legacy Edition”), the Enhanced Edition promised a next-gen glow-up with ray tracing, faster loading times, and additional vehicles.
However, just days after its release, it has plummeted to a “Mixed” rating, with only around 51% of its 12,000 Steam reviews being positive—a stark contrast to its predecessor. This backlash seemingly stems from a cocktail of technical issues and poor expectations. For starters, many players have reported problems with account migration, with long-time GTA Online veterans unable to transfer their progress due to “ineligible” errors.
Steam Users Are Not Happy About GTA 5 Enhanced Edition
One frustrated reviewer wrote, “Rockstar support is useless—I’m not restarting a decade of progress.” Others have slammed the game’s performance, calling it “a stuttery mess” plagued by lag and frame rate drops (even on high-end rigs). Adding insult to injury, the removal of text chat in GTA Online—a feature cherished by the PC community—has left players struggling to coordinate with randoms.
One Reddit user went as far as to say, “There’s no fun playing with randoms now. [The] only way to communicate now is to honk the horn and point the finger.” Another called the removal “typical Rockstar, instead of fixing an easy issue, they straight-up delete it.” A third said, “It’s busted. I couldn’t even access my existing character. I’m not about to start from scratch after investing nearly a decade, f**k that.”
Visually, the enhancements have also drawn criticism. Despite the inclusion of ray tracing and ultrawide monitor support, some argue the game looks barely different from the Legacy Edition, questioning the “Enhanced” label entirely. This lukewarm reception has seen it fall below even the notoriously troubled GTA 3: The Definitive Edition (65% positive) and the PC port of Manhunt (68%), marking a new low for Rockstar’s storied catalog.
Fans Are Desperate For New GTA Content
Many fans have also expressed frustration over the continuous re-releases of GTA 5 and Rockstar’s ongoing silence regarding GTA VI, which has yet to receive a firm release date or any substantial teasers. As it stands, the community is clearly desperate for new content, with one Reddit user encapsulating the sentiment by saying, “We’ve had like 14 GTA V releases—nobody wants to play GTA V anymore, just give us GTA VI.”
On the bright side, it’s not all doom and gloom. According to SteamDB, Grand Theft Auto 5: Enhanced Edition has still attracted over 187,000 concurrent players at its peak, showing that GTA 5’s pull remains strong. Rockstar has yet to comment on the criticism, but fans hope patches will address these woes. For now, the Enhanced Edition stands as a cautionary tale of high expectations meeting harsh realities.
In other news, the release date for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is expected to be unveiled during the SXSW panel on Sunday, Mar. 9, at 2 PM PT. Meanwhile, Capcom’s response to Monster Hunt Wilds’ PC issues has left many gamers very disappointed.
