David Nicholson: Reddit user claims to have beta access to 'GTA V' on PC

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Reddit user claims to have beta access to 'GTA V' on PC

PC gamers around the world are clamoring for Rockstar to release their mega-popular blockbuster Grand Theft Auto V onto the PC market–a desire that has gained considerable momentum both before and after the game’s release earlier this month.

To date, a popular “bring GTA V to PC” online petition*has amassed over a half million signatures, with the total number climbing every day–a clear indication of the anticipation and demand of the PC gaming community.

The petition was started by one Mike Julliard, who cites the power of the platform as well as the dedication of the modding communities who deliver some of the “most insanely fun times you can have” within a GTA game.

Interestingly enough, one Reddit user claims to already have a beta version of GTA V on PC. The user declares himself a beta tester for Rockstar Toronto, and says he’s been given a dev build of GTA V for PC*to test out–an unverified claim that inspires a wealth of speculation and disbelief.

The user goes on to list apparent technical details about the game as well as a few screenshots of Rockstar’s magnum opus running on Windows.

“About version: 30/60 fps lock (swap) lock 1280 x 720 (1920x 1080 with black bars like LA NOIRE )

“Middle graphics lock Good optimization (GTX 550 50~60fps)”

With the multitude of photo editing programs widely available it’s quite hard to determine the authenticity of the screenshots, and Rockstar Games has kept off-the-radar on the subject thus far.

In the past we’ve seen some other more credible instances of the possibility of GTA V coming to PC, including the leaked page listings from UK-based online retailers GameSeek and Zavvi, both of which are accepting pre-orders and put the game at a November/December release.

The other report comes by way of a few snippets found in GTA V‘s code when the game was leaked–and subsequently cracked open and scoured by hackers and modders. The code featured multiple references to “Orbis”, which is the PS4′s operating system, as well as a few instances of PC config snippets.

While the Reddit user’s purported claims can’t be verified and must remain rumor at this point, evidence continues to stack up pointing towards a PC release. Traditionally Rockstar has released PC versions of Grand Theft Auto games months after their console counterpart, so we can expect the game to come–we just don’t know when.

Maybe we’ll see some sort of official announcement or more leaked info–perhaps a promotional item with a release date, or more online store listings–but it’s unlikely that Rockstar will say anything until GTA Online is up and running smoothly.

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