The full game was playable in Chrome and it ran well by all accounts, most likely using a hybrid approach of local assets and cloud streaming.
What you need to know
A browser-based version of GTA V was live for a short while, but was soon taken offline. It seemingly used a combination of local assets alongside cloud streaming, and players said it performed smoothly enough. The site was taken down after only a few hours, although its owner was later asking “who wants the source code?”.
GTA V was briefly available to play in a web browser, in what’s quite a remarkable feat – although the website which was playing host to the game has now been taken down.
VideoCardz spotted that Pixel Gamer 4K on X discovered the ‘playgta5.com’ website (and note I wouldn’t advise visiting it, not that there’s any point doing so now, seeing as the game isn’t live anymore, as noted).
When it was running, as illustrated above you could simply open Chrome (or your preferred browser of course), navigate to the site and start playing the full version of GTA V.
However, this browser-based take on GTA V only lasted for a few hours, because as Pixel Gamer 4K recently noted, it’s now gone and “Rockstar has likely taken it down”.
That might not be the end of the tale yet, though, as apparently the owner of the downed site is asking: “Who wants the source code?”
Apparently, someone else already grabbed a compiled version that they’re running locally (0xProbability on X, as you can see below).
Hybrid solution?
How did this browser version of GTA V work exactly? That’s a good question, and the answer isn’t clear.
Seemingly it was a hybrid approach of streaming the game from the hosting server mixed with some assets stored locally (as there was a 700MB download required before you could play). Some of the players who tried the game note that it ran smoothly enough and didn’t seem overly compressed (save for the voices, which did sound compressed and weird).
Story Q&A
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From TweakTown’s coverage of this story.
What security precautions should players take before downloading an unofficial GTA V browser build?
Players should avoid visiting unofficial sites offering the GTA V browser build and should not download the 700MB package it required. The site has been taken down, and the security risks of visiting it or downloading its files were not specified.
What image-quality and latency tradeoffs can streaming GTA V have compared with running it locally?
Players reported that the browser version of GTA V ran smoothly and did not look overly compressed, though the voices sounded compressed and strange. There was no direct image-quality comparison with a locally run copy and no input-latency measurement, so a latency tradeoff cannot be established.
What internet connection is recommended for streaming GTA V smoothly?
No internet speed or connection type is recommended. The browser version reportedly ran smoothly, but how it worked was unclear; it appeared to combine server streaming with a 700MB download.
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The potential security risks of visiting this site, and undertaking that download, are obvious enough, which is why it’s best just to steer clear of unofficial projects like this. But it’s still interesting to see what can be done, and this is certainly an eye-opener for browser-based gaming.
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