GTA Online has annoying caveats for character transfers to new consoles, players learn

The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of Grand Theft Auto V are launching soon — just one day after this writing on March 15. Higher resolution, better framerates, and ray-tracing are among the improvements in the new versions, but not everything looks good for GTA players. While you can transfer your save to the new versions of the game, there are some big problems with GTA Online characters. In fact, you might already be out of luck.

ResetEra forum user IMACOMPUTA shared a reported response from Rockstar regarding character transfers from the previous PC release of GTA Online. “Players who [have] already transferred their online profile from Xbox One or PS4 to PC in the past will not be able to transfer their game progress Series X/S or PS5 again,” it reads. So if you’ve already moved your character to GTA Online on PC, you have no choice — you have to start fresh on the new consoles.

Furthermore, IMACOMPUTA reports that transferring from PS4 to PS5 or from Xbox One to Series X/S is a one-way street. Bringing the character forward to a new console will remove them from the old one. You cannot bounce back and forth. While the game does technically support cross-play and cross-progression, it’s apparently not doing so in the way you might be envisioning. Hopefully, this is something Rockstar can remedy in a future update.

For now, be prepared to make and stick with your choice if you decide to transfer to the newest PlayStation or Xbox. If you’ve yet to purchase GTA V but are ready to do so, you can grab either version at a cheaper introductory price until mid-June.