Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto 6 is almost – finally, for real this time – close to release, and Netflix’s extended showing on August 27 (along with leaks) has reduced the already excited fanbase to hysteria. However, the extended reveal is expected to have resulted in fans comparing GTA 6 to its predecessor, Grand Theft Auto 5. For the most part, fans seem to be delighted by all the side-by-side comparisons floating around in X, like the one below comparing GTA 6’s Jason and GTA 5’s Michael diving into the ocean. Water Diving Grand Theft Auto 6 VS Grand Theft Auto 5 Side by Side Comparison pic.twitter.com/olE0GQjiae — NikTek (@NikTek) August 28, 2026 Of course, as to be expected with X releases these days, there are some detractors, as some fans seem to think the diving animation looks better in GTA 5. I understand what they’re getting at, as does the physics of the animation. Jason’s backflip. It may seem a little unrealistic, but that’s the trade-off for opting for more bombastic animation. This is old news at this point, considering it was confirmed in the August 25 leak, but the improvements to both crowd density and draw distance in GTA 6 seem to be the ones that impress GTA 5 fans the most. For example, this skydiving clip comparing the quality of horizons in both games seems like the best example of how far we’ve come since GTA 5 launched in 2013. Sure, the quality of draw distance in GTA 6 might have come at the cost of the game locking at 30 FPS at launch, but it’s still impressive. GTA 5 vs. GTA 6 – Skydiving Animation 🪂 Upgrade or Downgrade? pic.twitter.com/b4vIWr59JJ — ENXGMA (@EnxgmaGTA) August 27, 2026 That said, the character models are where the graphical improvements seem to really shine. A user named Noru122 on Reddit has been trying to recreate GTA 6 promotional images in GTA 5 every time Rockstar Games releases a new trailer, and while it’s not an entirely fair comparison, considering that the GTA 6 images have been carefully produced as part of a very expensive advertising campaign, it’s still crazy to see some of them side by side. But if you want a fairer comparison, look no further than the two images below. The first direct comparison between GTA 5 (Online) and GTA 6 They are the same character. https://t.co/58HAeS2uc0 — Skynex (@skynexito) August 27, 2026 “GTA 6 looks like GTA 5 but with better lighting” GTA 5 🆚 GTA 6 pic.twitter.com/QVlyeyH5M8 — elchinyto 🍥 (@elchinyto_tech) August 28, 2026 It’s night and day when you compare Grand Theft Auto NPC Valentina from Online to the GTA 6 version of the same character. And for those of you who haven’t played GTA Online, Valentina was not present at the game’s original release in 2013; was introduced in the Money Fronts update in June 2025. Lighting also seems to be a big focus for GTA 6, and I think no other comparison shows that better than the one below. GTA 6 vs GTA 5: The difference at night is crazy. pic.twitter.com/kPUfxSr7tz — GTA 6 Updates (@gtasix_) August 28, 2026 Even taking into account the “high-resolution ray-traced reflections” improvements that were added to GTA 5 following the PC release of Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced in 2025, the game’s lighting effects don’t look as good as GTA 6 at night. No one needs to be less glassy than Rockstar Games, but I’ll be the first to admit that the developers are literally wizards if that’s a genuine representation of what the game ends up looking like on a standard launch edition PS5.
