PSSR came up too. It stands for PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, which is Sony’s new upscaling tech. It sharpens a lower resolution image into something that looks close to native while easing the load on the GPU. What it does not do is magically lighten the CPU work, though, and that is where Rockstar games usually feel the squeeze, so it cannot fix the main issue here.

Rockstar has a history that backs this up. Red Dead Redemption 2, both earlier Red Dead games, GTA V on old consoles and even the enhanced version on PS5 and Series X all stuck with 30FPS as the baseline - though, to be fair, for a long time this was just the industry standard for consoles. They added different visual modes for the upgraded GTA V, but they never put in a 40FPS option even though a lot of studios do that now for 120Hz displays. It just is not something Rockstar has shown real interest in... for now.

There is still a little room for optimism though, as a 40FPS mode is not out of the question. It is a lot easier to pull off than 60FPS and would not demand the same impossible level of CPU headroom. If Rockstar slightly lowers the internal resolution and lets PSSR clean it up, the PS5 Pro could probably handle it. The real question is whether Rockstar wants to offer these kinds of modes in the first place. Historically, they lock in their frame rate early and build the game’s entire rhythm around it, so changing that is not as simple as flipping a switch.

Even the first official GTA VI trailer quietly hinted at what they are aiming for. It ran at 30FPS, which is not absolute proof of anything yet, but it lines up with almost everything they have done before. Their games tend to take the “big simulation first, frame rate second” approach, and until we see actual gameplay, that pattern looks alive and well.

The Digital Foundary cast made it clear they do not have inside info and are mostly reading the room based on Rockstar’s past decisions - which is all anyone outside the studio can do right now. Rockstar builds gigantic, complicated worlds and prioritizes detail and simulation over pushing frame rates higher. It is the reason Red Dead Redemption 2 feels so alive, and the reason GTA V still holds up more than a decade later.

Until Rockstar says otherwise, the safest guess is that 30FPS will be the default again. A 40FPS mode could happen and the PS5 Pro definitely gives it more of a fighting chance, but nobody should count on it yet. If Rockstar does offer something higher than 30FPS, it will feel like a bonus rather than something the game was built around.