You Can’t Play GTA 4 on PS4 & Here’s Why

One of the best games of the Grand Theft Auto franchise is definitely Grand Theft Auto IV. The game was first released in 2008 and is one of the most successful installments of Rockstar Games’ notable franchise. GTA IV follows the player character Niko Bellic, a man born in Yugoslavia, who flees his past demons and visits his cousin Roman in Liberty City. Niko immediately became the fan favorite, and the game remained in GTA fans’ fond memories. Fondly remembered games are usually replayed by the fans, and this article will answer the central question of this article – can you play GTA IV on PS4?

Is GTA IV available on PS4?

Grand Theft Auto IV is one of the more notable games in the franchise. When it came out, people were excited about the characters and story while simultaneously criticizing the game’s performance. GTA 4 was released as a gaming console exclusive for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and PC gamers had to wait a bit for the game to come to their platform. However, it was a disaster when Rockstar Games ported the game to PC. The game performance of GTA 4 was much worse than on Xbox 360, and even users of PlayStation 3 complained that their game was struggling and had performance issues.

When it came to PC, GTA 4 was simply a disaster to run on PC. Despite having much better computers, PC players struggled to booth up GTA on their devices, especially the frame rates and graphic textures that ruined the game experience.

I remember playing it on my PC a few years ago; let’s just say GTA 4 was a nightmare to play. The frame rates were dropping nonstop, the game’s textures were destroying the game’s feel, and it was completely unplayable. After applying specific graphic options in-game, one can finally start playing the game.

Of course, issues didn’t stop here; Microsoft eventually discontinued the obligatory Windows Live account connection for playing the game, and Rockstar Games decided to pull GTA IV from Steam. The reasoning was the inability to play the game without it, but the game studio eventually resolved the issue and rereleased the Complete Edition of GTA 4 for PC players.

The Complete Edition included the Stories of Liberty City DLCs in the game, which fans welcomed with open arms. With that being said, we can say for sure that GTA IV is not available to play for PS4. Rockstar Games never bothered to release a remaster of the game, nor did they think about that option since GTA V was thoroughly developed and worked on to be released on PS4 platforms for years.

Rockstar Games prioritized other projects above GTA IV. It didn’t help that the game developer had to resolve a lot of the game’s issues before even thinking about porting it to newer consoles.

Why can’t you play it on current-generation consoles?

We know GTA V has been ported or rereleased on three generations of consoles – PS3, PS4, and most recently, PS5. Fans weren’t happy about that decision since other games like GTA 4 didn’t get any new versions or remasters since its release in 2008.

Since GTA IV was never remastered, it still has the same engine and performances from 2008; the game is unplayable for newer and current generations of consoles. Why? Because, in the case of PlayStation, Sony discontinued the backward compatibility feature on their newer consoles, so PS4 and PS5 cannot play games from PS3 – it’s possible only if the game is remastered or enhanced.

New GTA game remasters, particularly of GTA: Vice City and San Andreas, are playable on newer generations of PlayStation because they are enhanced versions of the games – GTA IV isn’t.

However, not all is “gloom and doom” for console gamers who want to play GTA IV.

What console is GTA IV available for?

Grand Theft Auto IV had a lot of issues during its release and replayability over the years. However, it is still fondly remembered by the fans and gamers who grew up with the game in 2008. The story of Niko Bellic was fascinating and immersive, which is argued to be one of the best in the franchise.

Compatibility issues and overall game performance were sometimes abysmal for PC and PlayStation gamers, but despite that, GTA IV is still playable on consoles. 

The older generation of consoles like PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 still exist, and players can play GTA IV via discs. Microsoft is at an advantage here since Xbox Stores still work for Xbox 360, and players can purchase a digital copy of the game via Xbox Live. We mentioned Sony removing the backward compatibility feature for their newer consoles – well, Xbox users can rejoice because Microsoft didn’t.

New Xbox consoles still have the feature that allows players to play earlier generations of games without waiting for special remasters or enhancements – GTA IV is available in Xbox Stores and can be played on Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. 

PlayStation gamers will need to wait for the remaster of GTA IV, and unfortunately, there won’t be any time soon. The release of GTA Trilogy: Definite Edition wasn’t well received by the fans. Poor reception made Rockstar Games throw away the ideas of GTA IV and original Red Dead Redemption remasters.  

Is it surprising? Probably not, but still, it’s disappointing. Nevertheless, Xbox, PC, and PS3 players can still enjoy the original GTA IV, and hopefully, we will finally get some good news about this notable game.

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