Games

GTA 5 Unofficially Makes Its Way to Nintendo Switch Through Modders

A group of modders successfully brings Grand Theft Auto 5 to the Nintendo Switch despite the lack of an official port, showcasing their technical prowess.
GTA 5 Unofficially Makes Its Way to Nintendo Switch Through Modders

Highlights

  • Modders successfully run Grand Theft Auto 5 on the Nintendo Switch, a platform the game was never officially released on.
  • The unofficial port demonstrates the technical capabilities of modders, showcasing gameplay up to GTA 5's heist prologue chapter.
  • The modding community's work is made possible by a source code leak, although legal concerns loom due to the game's publisher's history with modders.

Modders have accomplished a remarkable feat by getting Grand Theft Auto 5 to operate on the Nintendo Switch. Since its debut in 2013, Grand Theft Auto 5 has remained immensely popular. Notably, the game continues to receive fresh content for its online segment and has been reissued on various platforms spanning three console generations. Surprisingly, the game never made its way to the Nintendo Switch following its initial launch.

Despite Nintendo's family-friendly reputation, mature-rated games have found their way onto its consoles. The latest inclusion was GTA: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition in 2021. However, hopes for an official GTA 5 port to the Switch were shattered by a Rockstar leak in December 2023, revealing that such a port was never in the plans. Nevertheless, a group of dedicated GTA modders have managed to create an unofficial port for the Nintendo Switch.

Superstar South Studios, a prominent GTA 5 modding group, shared footage of this unofficial port on the Switch. The video showcased the game's functionality on the console, marking a significant achievement. Previous clips from Superstar South displayed GTA 5 crashing before loading, while the new clip exhibits gameplay up to the heist prologue chapter.

Progress of Superstar South's GTA 5 Switch Port

The team clarified that the footage was captured in the Nintendo Switch's handheld mode without overclocking. Although the video appears slightly choppy, Superstar South explained that this was due to the recording process and not reflective of the actual gameplay experience. Some graphical elements suffer, with textures appearing less refined in certain areas. Despite occasional crashes within a few minutes of play, the modders' achievement in running the game on the Switch is commendable.

The unauthorized port became viable following a GTA 5 source code leak in December 2023, enabling modders and hackers to customize the game extensively. Notably, Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar's parent company, has a history of being unfriendly towards game modders. While Superstar South has not faced legal repercussions yet, the future of GTA 6 on the Nintendo Switch seems bleak, given Rockstar's omission of Grand Theft Auto 5 on the platform.

Tags:
Share:
Recent News