Is GTA 5 still worth playing in 2026?

Grand Theft Auto V is thirteen years old in 2026 and Grand Theft Auto VI launches 19 November 2026. Between those two facts sits a real question: is it worth spending time in GTA V right now. The short answer is yes, on two fronts that are both still active, and no on a third that quietly closed this year.

What's still alive

GTA Online is still running, still updated, and still Rockstar's flagship online mode for the game, active on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows PC, according to Rockstar's own product page. It has been continuously live since launching 1 October 2013, per Rockstar's original announcement, with one notable retirement: online services for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of GTA V ended 16 December 2021, per Rockstar Support. Current-gen and PC players are unaffected.

FiveM is also active, and arguably the more interesting reason to still be playing GTA V in 2026 if you want something beyond Rockstar's own content. See what is FiveM for the full picture. FiveM's operator, Cfx.re, was acquired by Rockstar in August 2023, and 2026 brought a major platform change: FiveM for GTAV Enhanced reached early access for server owners on 21 July 2026, per the Cfx.re forum announcement, running alongside the original FiveM (Legacy) platform that most existing servers still use. Whether you want vanilla roleplay servers, custom economies, or total-conversion game modes, that ecosystem is where GTA V's most active custom-content community lives right now.

What shut down in 2026

alt:V Multiplayer and RAGE:MP, FiveM's two longtime alternatives for custom GTA V multiplayer, both shut down in 2026 after reported cease-and-desist actions from Take-Two. alt:V's shutdown completed 6 July 2026; RAGE:MP's completed 31 August 2026. Full timeline and sourcing at the alt:V and RAGE:MP shutdown. If you were playing on either platform, that specific door is closed, and FiveM is the remaining authorized option for custom GTA V servers.

Which version to run

If your interest is single-player or Rockstar's own GTA Online, Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced is the current version Rockstar actively updates, released as a free PC upgrade for existing owners on 4 March 2025. If your interest is FiveM's established server ecosystem, Grand Theft Auto V Legacy is still what most of that ecosystem runs on, though the Enhanced-compatible build of FiveM is now in early access. The full breakdown is at GTA V Legacy vs Enhanced.

GTA V by the numbers, where Take-Two has actually published them

Grand Theft Auto V has sold over 230 million units, as of Take-Two's Q1 FY2027 earnings report covering the quarter ended 30 June 2026, per the company's own investor relations materials. That is a company-reported cumulative sell-in figure, not an independently audited retail count, and Take-Two reports it cumulatively each quarter rather than as a single fixed lifetime total. No official current player-count or concurrent-user figure for GTA Online has been published by Take-Two or Rockstar; the closest public number is a live counter on the FiveM homepage that shows roughly 120,500 people playing FiveM specifically at any given check, which is a snapshot, not a historical average.

GTA V versus the game that's about to replace it

Grand Theft Auto VI launches 19 November 2026 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S only, with no PC release announced. That means GTA V, especially the PC platform, is not going anywhere the moment VI ships. Anyone on PC, or anyone waiting on a PC release of VI the way GTA V's own PC version arrived roughly eighteen months after console launch, has a real reason to keep GTA V installed well past November. See GTA 6 vs GTA 5 for the full comparison and GTA Online after GTA 6 for what's known about GTA Online's future once VI is out.

The practical verdict

GTA Online remains a maintained, populated Rockstar product across every currently sold platform. FiveM remains an active, Rockstar-authorized platform for custom servers, now expanding to Enhanced in early access, with its two main competitors gone. Nothing about GTA VI's console-only, single-player-first launch replaces either of those in November. For most players, GTA V in 2026 is worth playing for exactly the reasons it was worth playing in 2024: an active official online mode, and an even more active third-party server ecosystem built on top of it.

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