Today marks another anniversary of Grand Theft Auto V and the last one before Grand Theft Auto VI finally arrives

After 1000+ hours in GTA V Legacy across both Story and Online Mode, I can honestly say this game became far more than just another game I played, It became a constant

Across different years, different phases of my life and different circumstances GTA V was always there. Sometimes for a serious session, sometimes just to waste a few hours and sometimes for absolutely no reason other than getting online with friends and seeing what kind of chaos we could create and that is probably what I will remember the most

Over the years, GTA Online gave me countless reasons to stay connected with friends. We completed storylines, missions, heists, challenges, races, jobs, Easter eggs, mysteries, hidden content and practically everything Los Santos had to offer. We bought the properties, collected the vehicles, built businesses, completed the content and experienced years of updates together

But the real value was never the money the cars or the properties, It was everything that happened while getting them !

The random moments
The stupid plans that somehow worked
The plans that absolutely did not work
The races that turned into chaos
The heists that should have taken 20 minutes and somehow took two hours
The things we discovered by accident
The things we still laugh about years later

Some games give you content
Some games give you memories
GTA V managed to do both

I've played games across countless genres and experienced a lot of different franchises over the years, and I say this as a fan without blind loyalty: the GTA series has continued to move in the direction it needed to go, GTA V did not need another review explaining its gameplay, world design, content or attention to detail; After all these years the game has already proven its place in the industry by itself

Even technically, GTA V continued to evolve; Its PC versions became increasingly mature, adaptable and polished across a wide range of hardware; I personally experienced this game on three different PC configurations over the years and somehow Los Santos kept giving me reasons to come back

And now, after all this time we are finally standing at the end of an era
GTA VI is coming
But GTA V is not going anywhere

Even when VI takes over, I know there will be moments when I launch GTA V again, drive through Los Santos, hear a familiar song on the radio, meet up with old friends and suddenly remember a completely different period of my life; That is what makes this game difficult to replace

I am genuinely grateful that GTA V gave me so many years of being around close friends and even gave me the chance to meet new people through its world. I hope GTA VI can create that same kind of environment, new stories, friendships, chaos and another collection of memories that will last for years

1000+ hours
Countless updates
Countless sessions
Countless memories

GTA V was never just a game I played for years

It was a game I lived through different years with

And no matter how far GTA VI takes the series, Los Santos will always be somewhere worth coming back to.

funny game, really love it when I play the story mode and freemode

People normalized this so much that its filled to the brim with ads and notifications that mean nothing, even playing SP gives you ads for MP for no reason