Fans have released an RTX remaster of GTA 4 and shown a comparison with the original in 4K

A fan-made remaster of Grand Theft Auto 4 has been released, created by enthusiast xoxor4d. This modification brings ray tracing to the action game, significantly transforming the game: global illumination has been improved, shadows and reflections have become more realistic, and lighting behavior and the rendering of shadowed areas have been altered. The project can be downloaded from GitHub.

ElAnalistaDeBits, a creator at the channel, attempted to assess the scale of the changes by comparing the original version of GTA 4 and the remaster in 4K resolution. To ensure a fair comparison, he compared the scene at different times of day, testing how the game looks in bright sunlight, in dark spaces, and during rain. He says the remastered version is reminiscent of modern projects in some places, although certain elements, such as water, certain materials, lighting, and weather effects, still require improvement.

Even at this stage, the mod proved to be quite resource-intensive. The blogger ran it on an RTX 5090 graphics card, highlighting the high demands of RTX processing.

The project is based on the RTX Remix platform, designed to integrate modern technologies into classic titles. It enables the addition of ray tracing, DLSS anti-aliasing, and other visual enhancements. NVIDIA opened beta access to the tool in early 2024, enabling modders to create similar projects.