Grand Theft Auto 5’s Single Player Boasts Drastically Reduced Load Times on Xbox Series X

We’ve been hearing a lot about how much games new and old are going to benefit from faster load times on next-gen consoles, and lately, we’ve been seeing examples of that as well, with the likes of Resident Evil 2, DOOM Eternal, Gears 5, and The Witcher 3 all showcasing significantly faster loading on the Xbox Series X.

Grand Theft Auto 5 is going to receive a dedicated next-gen launch next year, but it will still be playable on next-gen consoles via backward compatibility this month. This is a game that, in true Rockstar fashion, is notorious for its extremely long load times- so how does it fare on the Xbox Series X?

YouTube channel GameRiot recently demonstrated the same, as you can see below. On the single player side of things, load times have been cut down drastically, going from the console’s home menu to gameplay in 37 seconds. It’s worth noting that this includes the multiple splash screens the game shows upon booting up- the actual loading for the campaign is done in  about 5 seconds.

However, as far as Grand Theft Auto Online is concerned, the results are quite disappointing. Going from the console’s home screen to gameplay takes a ridiculous 2 minutes and 2 seconds. Not counting the splash screens, that still comes to nearly a minute an a half, which is not very good, especially by next-gen standards.

Hopefully, when Grand Theft Auto 5 is properly optimized for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S next year, GTA Online’s load times will be addressed as well.