GTA 5: How To Transfer Your Save To The Updated Enhanced Edition
As easy as stealing a car.
Grand Theft Auto 5 players on PC are finally getting a handful of visual enhancements that their console counterparts have been enjoying for years. Grand Theft Auto 5 Enhanced is a free update for PC players that adds some long-awaited graphical bells and whistles, including ray traced reflections and shadows, faster load times for those using SSDs, ambient occlusion and global illumination, better framerate scalability and both Nvidia DLSS and AMD FSR support.
Unfortunately, some players jumping into the substantial update have reported on Steam issues transferring their saves from the older version of the game to the new one. While the process does take a few steps, it’s not nearly as difficult as it may seem.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on moving your progress over seamlessly.
Limits of the GTA 5 Save Transfer Process
There are limits to what saves can be transferred to the newly updated PC version of GTA 5.
Before getting started, players should note what exactly is possible with Rockstar’s transfer process. Saves can only be transferred between the Legacy PC version of GTA 5, and the Enhanced version released earlier this month. You can’t transfer a console save to the Enhanced version of GTA 5. Players must also have a Rockstar Social Club account to initiate the process.
For the (hopefully) recovering trolls and griefers among you, there may be limitations in the ability to transfer saves. Only accounts without bans or suspensions can be transferred. Rockstar also states on its support page that player profiles that have “illegitimate or insufficient progress” on the old version of the game can’t be moved over.
Finally, take special care to upload the correct save you want when you’re ready, as this process can only be done a single time. Also note that you can not transfer a save from the Enhanced edition back to the Legacy version.
Uploading Your GTA 5 Story Mode Save
A successful upload will be followed by this message.
If you want to avoid running through GTA 5’s story mode again, there’s a pretty easy way to do it right from the pause menu. First, boot up the legacy version of GTA 5 PC. Once loaded into your save game, pause and navigate over the tab labeled “Game.”
In this tab, there should be an option to “Upload Save Game.” Simply select the save that you want to move on over to the Enhanced version of the game to get going.
For some players returning to the game for the first time in a long time, you may be blocked by a notice asking you to first “accept the latest Rockstar Games Online Policies.” While the warning suggests you visit Rockstar’s official website to accept those terms, that’s not needed at all. Instead, navigate over to the Online tab in the pause menu, and launch the multiplayer mode. Here, you’ll be prompted to accept the game’s terms of service. Once you tick the appropriate boxes and load in, simply back out to the single player mode and upload your save as explained above.
Download Your Story Save In GTA 5 Enhanced
Once your save is uploaded, load up the Enhanced version of GTA 5. Open up the pause menu while in game, mouse over to the Game tab and select “Download Save Game.” The save you’ve uploaded should replace your current fresh save file, allowing you to pick up where you left off on the old version of the game but with all the graphical tweaks.
Migrating Your GTA: Online Progress
Getting back to your GTA: Online exploits is far easier than transferring your single-player save.
Moving your online progress over to the new version of GTA 5 is a lot easier than the single player.
Simple boot up GTA: Online in the Enhanced version. The game will ask you if you’d like to migrate a listed profile over, with a record of your character’s progress and a time stamp of when you last played. Just select the character and you’ll be back building your criminal empire.
Just a note to those who have groups they play with, GTA 5 Enhanced is considered a different game from the Legacy edition. This means you won’t be able to play with friends who haven’t upgraded to the updated version of the 12-year-old game.
If your gaming buddies don’t have the hardware to run the Enhanced version, it might be worth it to keep your primary character tied to the Legacy version.
