Grand Theft Auto V, since its initial launch back in 2013, has been released three times across five platforms.
The first time the game hit store shelves, it was for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. The second round of releases came in 2014 for the then-next-now-current-gen consoles, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Finally, in 2015, the game made the long-awaited jump to PC. However, if a swiftly removed Amazon listing is to be believed, GTA 5 is going to get another round of releases.
Amazon.de, the German-localized site of the distribution giant, briefly listed what was called "Grand Theft Auto V — Premium Edition". The listing itself was very preliminary, containing little information, but was for the PlayStation 4 platform and priced the "Premium Edition" at EUR 69.95. Unfortunately, the product page held little information as to what "Premium Edition" entails, but it has sparked major speculation among fans. One specific piece of info revealed, however, was the release date — March 23, 2018.
The fact that the Premium Edition was advertised for PlayStation 4 may indicate that this is a version of GTA 5 enhanced for the PS4 Pro, which supports 4K resolution and 60 FPS. It would be the most logical conclusion and carry with it the similarly logical conclusion that the game would be prettied up for the Xbox One X too, with the same "Premium Edition" branding.
However, the speculation doesn't stop there.
Rumors about a possible Nintendo Switch port of GTA 5 have been floating about ever since graphically demanding titles like DOOM have made the leap to the platform. The Nintendo Switch has been a huge commercial success, and a guaranteed seller like GTA 5 would make a boatload of cash for all parties involved. Take-Two has also been very vocal about their support for the Nintendo Switch from the very beginning, including even having NBA 2K18 appear in the initial trailer for the platform.
Putting their flagship game onto Nintendo's flagship platform would be a huge boost of publicity and clout for both companies, who are seemingly keen on working together. While the Switch is hardly suffering from a games drought anymore and has long since grown beyond being the "Breath of the Wild machine", a game like Grand Theft Auto 5 would be yet another huge draw considering its established popularity and following.
Another thing to consider is the name. Why call it "Premium" edition if all that's changed is graphical fidelity? The Premium word should imply additional content for players to enjoy, and since the listing is at a somewhat higher price than the full price of the game's current versions, it stands to reason that a whole new version wouldn't be released for such an ultimately minor graphical upgrade — especially considering a bunch of other games get the upgrade for free and this would lead to the player base crying foul, with complete justification.
Instead, we suspect that the "Premium" part of the name will be justified by in-game content, and since GTA 5 doesn't have any paid DLC, this means items and currency for GTA Online. It could be a bit like the collector's edition was back in the day, with items that can't be acquired in any way save for buying this edition. Or it could simply be a bundle which includes one of the Criminal Enterprise Starter Packs.
In any case, a re-release of GTA 5 would make financial sense. It requires relatively little investment, and seeing as the game's sales rate has only been increasing in the past few years, crossing 90 million copies sold recently, there is absolutely still a market for the title, and a "new" release would boost those sales even further.
The timing of this re-release also makes sense. With Rockstar's next presumable big hit, Red Dead Redemption 2, coming in October, it is reasonable to assume that the core gaming community will move on (even if the mainstream doesn't, which is why GTA Online won't suffer for the release of RDR2), and so launching a newer edition of GTA 5 a few months before the next big title will likely herd in everyone who hasn't bought the game yet but was planning on it before RDR2 even has a chance to maybe cannibalize some sales.
If Rockstar and Take-Two play their cards right and make this edition feel truly worthy of being a new version, and maybe even expand GTA 5 to the Nintendo Switch, they could top their already record-breaking sales. Then again, this could also turn out negative, should the Premium Edition not hold any substantial additions. We'll bring you more as we hear it!
