Grand Theft Auto VI can hold its horses as Grand Theft Auto IV has returned from the dead, finally playable on the PlayStation 5.
Now it might be a controversial statement to say GTA IV is the best game in the series. Perhaps it’s nostalgia, perhaps it’s a fact but what’s indisputable is it’s a damn good game.
Unfortunately, millions of gamers are unable to play it as while it’s readily available on PC and a backwards compatible title for the Xbox Series X/S it’s yet to be ported to the PlayStation 5, or Nintendo Switch/Nintendo Switch 2.
PlayStation 5 owners are in luck though, because they finally have the port they always dreamed of, and the best part is you don’t even need PlayStation Plus to access it.
How To Play GTA 4 On The PlayStation 5
In case you hadn’t heard, your PlayStation 5 can now play thousands of PlayStation 3 titles without the need for PlayStation Plus Premium. Not that the procured selection of PlayStation 3 games Premium offers is any good anyway.
Recently, it was discovered the PlayStation 5 can run Linux and with that support comes a whole new world of possibilities for emulation.
GTA IV however, is available on Steam and that’s the version Speed-007 got running on their PlayStation 5.
It’s worth noting that the PC version of GTA IV isn’t as good as the console version, but just the fact that it’s playable like this is impressive.
Speed-007 reckons the game runs well and shared a screenshot of it working in 4K. No gameplay was shown though.
my ps5 linux [ 4.xx ] 🔥
i tested first steam game GTA IV working very well
4k high setting pic.twitter.com/EqLR7WdYkq— Speed-007 (@zombie_round) April 29, 2026
While this version of the game was run through Steam, you could also run it through the PlayStation emulator RPCS3, which offers support for several Sony consoles.
You’d need a physical, paid-for copy of GTA IV to rip the ROM from and then upload it to your PC, or in this case, your modified PlayStation 5.
You obviously won’t be able to take your console online in this state but if your goal is to simply use your console as a PlayStation 3, it works pretty well.
It’s hilarious that gamers have to go to these lengths to get PlayStation 3 games working on the PlayStation 5, as Sony has claimed in the past that they won’t be able to run natively.
PlayStation Plus Premium’s cloud-streamed selection is the only option to play PlayStation 3 games officially but new titles are very rarely added. Plus it relies on an internet connection, so if your Wi-Fi isn’t stable, you’re not going to have a pleasant experience.
Hopefully, an official remaster of GTA IV is in the works, so we don’t have to do all of this tinkering but we wouldn’t expect one until well after Grand Theft Auto VI’s release.
Once the dust has cleared from the next GTA game’s arrival, perhaps then Rockstar Games will turn its attention to remasters, as several great games in its repertoire deserve to see the sun again.
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