An unofficial version which includes all the features of Grand Theft Auto V is said to be ported to Android, after a community effort resulted in the title landing on the Nintendo Switch.
According to multiple reports from Tom’s Hardware, VideoCardz and PCLabs, the developer behind the recently released unofficial Nintendo Switch version of GTA V is planning to release it on Android.
GTA V Being Adapted for Android
The project does not deal with Windows emulators, compatibility layers or cloud streaming but rather, it will attempt to make GTA V run naturally on Android devices. This would involve adapting and compiling the game to directly run on ARM-based mobile devices.
It adopts the same strategy as the Nintendo Switch port: The game is modified to run on the NVIDIA Tegra X1 that powers the Switch. The Switch version is said to have been built from the GTA V Legacy version 1.0.2699, which is the version of the GTA V game based on the PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions.
It was also reported that a leak of GTA V source code from 2023 has helped the development process. The leaked content has been used to reverse engineer parts of the game, and subsequently recompile it for ARM-based devices.
Switch Port Highlights the Challenge
It is interesting to see how hard a “native” mobile version of the existing Switch port would be. The frame rate in normal Nintendo Switch is 10–25 frames per second, and 30fps in less demanding areas with an overclocked Switch OLED.
In order to fit into the hardware constraints of the Switch, it is said that the developers lowered draw distances, particle effects and compressed game assets. The port also takes into account the console’s 4 GB of memory.
The release date for the Android version has not been announced.
The Android version is also being developed, but as yet there is no official release date for this version.
The project is unofficial, and Rockstar Games hasn’t announced, endorsed or released GTA V for Android.
If accomplished, the port could eventually enable any of the compatible Android smartphones to play GTA V without the need to emulate it or stream it through the cloud.