GTA 5 free download announced, you've until 24 December to grab

If you want to play the online offering of GTA V without spending a penny, now is the chance but there is a small catch.

GTA V was originally released in 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and it’s fair to say that it pushed those then ageing platforms to the absolute limits. Rockstar Games performed pure wizardry to make GTA V perform as well as it did.

Check out the GTA Online: Agents of Sabotage trailer below!

Since that time, the most popular entry in the Grand Theft Auto series has been ported to every console generation and so has its multiplayer mode, GTA Online.

GTA Online is included in purchases of GTA V but if for whatever reason you don't want the single-player game, you can purchase its online offering as a standalone product.

What’s more, GTA Online is constantly being supported with new expansion-sized content, such as the most recent ‘Agents of Sabotage’ event, so there’s often something new to experience.

Rockstar Games will likely continue to support GTA Online with this level of content right up to the launch of GTA VI, and perhaps even beyond that. However, if you’ve never played GTA Online or haven't played it in a while, you can jump in right now on PlayStation with no PS Plus requirement.

The only catch is that the game itself isn't free. You’re going to have to purchase the standalone GTA Online or, of course, play the one that’s included in Grand Theft Auto V.

At the time of writing, you can pick up GTA Online on PlayStation with a 50% discount bringing the price down from £17.99 to just £8.99.

You will be able to play GTA Online without a PlayStation Plus subscription until 24 December 2024, after that, you will need to cough up the cash to access the game, unlike free-to–play titles, Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone.

GTA V and GTA Online are out now on PC, PlayStation and Xbox. As for GTA VI, that’s currently scheduled to be released in late 2025 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.