Among all the games released till now, Grand Theft Auto V is one of the few that have demonstrated such incredible longevity. The game has been at the top for more than 10 years and is still going strong due to Rockstar's continuous support, new players joining GTA Online daily, and now the highly anticipated enhanced edition.
While the gaming industry is turning its eyes towards the 2025 Steam Awards, a lot of people think that GTA 5 might, in fact, win the Game of the Year title again.
The following is an elaboration on the positive spurring of the Enhanced Edition.
Why GTA 5 Still Vital?
The incredible long-term popularity of GTA 5 is due to a combination of superb narrative, lively open-world layout, and a vibrant multiplayer ecosystem. Despite newer games popping up, Los Santos remains the most notable town in the game.
- Heists and missions
- Roleplay servers
- Custom game modes
- New DLC expansions
Daily players are still actively engaging in all four activities. The continued involvement of players makes GTA 5 a powerful competitor in 2025, which is a very exceptional case for a game that has been around since 2013.
Enhanced Edition : What’s Actually New?
The Enhanced Edition puts GTA 5 under the spotlight again with its several updates that can be enjoyed by both the returning players and the newcomers to the game. This upgrade, in contrast to the previous years’ minor patches, attempts to provide a more immersive and modern experience.
Key upgrades include :
Previously, the shadows and lighting were reworked
- Optimisations for the 4K resolution
- The support for the reflections and ray tracing was better
- The NPC's behaviour was improved
- The loading times were reduced
- The driving and combat physics were also enhanced
- The audio layers for cars, environmental sounds, and guns were updated
The updates have brought GTA 5 to a level of next-gen that has made it interesting again for the new players.
Community Buzz and Player Metrics Are Surging
The announcement of the Enhanced Edition has driven significant activity on Steam charts, and as a result, GTA 5 has again become a hot topic. The title is already very frequently seen among the Top 10 most-played games, and this positive trend is predicted to continue even more robustly in 2025. One reason for the surge in interest is that voting for the Steam Awards is through the community, and thus, the game’s chance of winning is directly proportional to the extent of enthusiasm.
The absence of popular streamers and content creators has sometimes gone unnoticed, but they are still a factor that attracts older people and the newcomers simultaneously. Besides that, the roleplay communities, especially the ones based on the servers like NoPixel, are also gaining new players; thus, the game’s overall participation is increasing.
By the time voting starts, if the current trend holds, GTA 5 will have a high chance of winning prestigious categories such as "Game of the Year" and "Labour of Love,” simply due to the sheer size and revitalisation of its player base.
Can GTA 5 Really Win Steam Awards Game of the Year in 2025?
Although some contend that a ten-year-old game has no place in competition with fresh ones, the Steam Award regulations are not the same; the selection of games may be grounded on the factors mentioned above, namely, the impact, updates and community satisfaction, rather than simply the release year.
Factors boosting GTA 5’s chances :
The consistency of Rockstar in providing updates
- The huge number of players
- The nostalgia effect
- The Enhanced Edition provides almost next-gen quality
- A solid network of online content and mods
In the past, community-driven games like Cyberpunk 2077 and No Man's Sky have made monumental comebacks in the award circuits. GTA 5 is ready to take a similar path but with a greater impact.
Why Steam Users May Vote for GTA 5?
Several main factors might lead gamers to give their Game of the Year vote to GTA 5 :
- Content Longevity : Only a handful of games have such long-lasting attractiveness and remain important at the same time.
- Value for Money : One transaction gives access to a huge single-player narrative and to very long-lasting online content.
- Modding Community : The game is kept fresh and alive thanks to the new missions, character skins, and realism mods, among other visual enhancements.
- No Major Competitor in Its Niche : Since the release of the game, no other titles have come close to it in the open-world crime genre.
- Enhanced Edition Brings a Next-Gen Feel : The changes completely bring the experience up to date.
- Community Engagement : The interactions through Steam reviews, forums, and discussion boards are still very lively.
These reasons make GTA 5 not only a nostalgic choice but also a community favourite with the proof of its staying power.
Rockstar’s Timing Is Strategic and Possibly Award-Driven
Releasing the Enhanced Edition just ahead of the 2025 awards season is almost certainly a strategic move, and Rockstar’s timing couldn’t be more effective. The update immediately reignites mainstream interest, bringing the game back into conversations across social media, gaming forums, and streaming platforms.
It also encourages former players to return months before voting begins, giving the game a fresh surge of activity that can strongly influence voter sentiment. By arriving now, the upgrade helps GTA 5 feel “new enough” to meet modern award expectations, even though it isn’t a full remake. This timing becomes even more impactful considering the current state of the gaming industry, where many studios are pushing major releases into late 2025 or beyond.
With fewer blockbuster titles to compete against, GTA 5’s polished and revitalised version steps into a convenient gap, offering players something familiar yet refreshed exactly when the market needs it.
What Could Stop GTA 5 From Winning?
The game itself is a strong contender; however, it still has to overcome the challenges that can eventually lead its victory chances to the ground. Among these challenges, the constant release of new AAA games, which take the limelight, is the number one barrier. No matter how revered older titles are, their brilliance is, in a way, muted by the new releases.
Another issue raised relates to the die-hard fans who anticipated the old game being totally redone; for them, the Enhanced Edition may be a turn-off, yielding divided opinions. The competition situation is also a significant factor; fighting games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Counter-Strike 2 are always at the top of the players’ list, making it even more difficult for single-player or re-released games to get noticed. The feeling of being fed up with the oldies is also present in some Steam community sections, where players say they want new IPs instead of remakes of the existing ones.
Lastly, performance differences on the old systems could hurt the update’s image, since the quality of the optimisation is frequently a critical factor for many users. Nevertheless, the game’s history, impact, and the support of its fans continue to be very powerful reasons to keep it alive in the discussion and to recognise that its influence is far greater than the technical arguments or short-lived trends.
Conclusion : A Real Chance at 2025 Steam Game of the Year
The Enhanced Edition is taking the game back to its glory days and, at the same time, modernising its gameplay, making it the only game to receive a major comeback at the Steam Awards 2025. Its massive community, the never-ending updates, and its relevance make it a strong contender on the platform.
No matter if it will be awarded as the Game of the Year or not, it is inevitable that :
GTA 5 has already become a major part of the gaming industry in ways nobody could have ever imagined back in 2013.
The game’s saga from a record-setting release to a lasting cultural icon is one of a kind, and who knows, 2025 might just be the year when it demonstrates once again that it's still the best open-world game.
