What your PC needs to run GTA 4 in 2026

For GTA IV: The Complete Edition, the only version currently sold on PC, there are two official minimums: one on the game’s Steam page and one on Rockstar’s support site (Rockstar Support). They differ.

Steam’s minimum processor, memory and graphics card match the 2008 PC minimum. Rockstar Support lists a higher bar for the Complete Edition (GTABase gives the same figures) and warns that updates may change the requirements over time. The safer choice is Rockstar’s higher bar: these are the publisher’s requirements for the version on sale today.

There are no macOS or Linux versions: Steam lists the game for Windows only. The Complete Edition page went live on Steam on March 24, 2020.

Rockstar published these two sets for the 2008 PC version; GTABase and SystemRequirementsLab both list them. SystemRequirementsLab gives 1 GB of RAM for the minimum on Windows XP (1.5 GB on Vista) and lists Shader Model 3.0 in both sets. There are no separate recommended requirements for the Complete Edition. Note that Rockstar’s Complete Edition minimum matches the 2008 recommended processor and graphics card.

For the game as it is sold today, plan for 22 GB.

When the old versions were replaced in 2020, Steam downloaded the update automatically: about 22 GB for owners of Episodes from Liberty City and about 6 GB for owners of GTA IV. Old save files work with the new version.

On Steam, the processor, memory and graphics card stayed at the 2008 minimum; what changed is the OS and the services around the game. Rockstar Support lists a higher minimum for the Complete Edition, see the table above.

Steam warns that the game requires a Rockstar Games account linked to Steam. The game runs through the Rockstar Games Launcher, and the first launch needs an internet connection.

The Complete Edition is sold both on Steam and in the Rockstar Games Launcher itself. Owners of the disc version can add the game to the launcher with the key from the manual.

The bundle contains three story campaigns set in the same Liberty City:

• GTA IV, the story of Niko Bellic;
• The Lost and Damned, the story of Johnny Klebitz from The Lost biker club;
• The Ballad of Gay Tony, the story of Luis Lopez, the right-hand man of nightclub owner Tony Prince.

Together the two episodes are called Episodes from Liberty City. Steam no longer sells them separately.

Why a new version appeared at all: Microsoft ended support for Games for Windows Live, and Rockstar could no longer issue new keys. In early 2020 the game was pulled from sale, and in March it returned as the Complete Edition. Everyone who owned GTA IV or Episodes from Liberty City on Steam got it for free. Disc copies that were never activated in GfWL can be added with the key from the manual, and already activated ones through a Social Club link.

• Games for Windows Live, and with it multiplayer and leaderboards. Steam still shows the "Multi-player" tag in the game's categories, but Rockstar's description says plainly that multiplayer was removed.
• Three radio stations from the episodes: RamJam FM, Self-Actualization FM and Vice City FM. The Steam page calls them "temporarily unavailable", and as of November 6, 2026 that wording has not changed.

The 2018 music removal is a separate story. In April 2018, around the game's 10th anniversary, 10-year licenses expired and more than 50 tracks were cut from the radio. This affected PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, the base game and both episodes. The cuts include The Smashing Pumpkins "1979", Stevie Nicks "Edge of Seventeen", Black Sabbath "Heaven and Hell", Iron Maiden "Run to the Hills" and, in the episodes, AC/DC "Touch Too Much". Rockstar added new tracks to the one station that lost the most.

Valve rates the game as Playable, not Verified. The reason is the Rockstar Games Launcher, which needs an internet connection on first launch. Default controls, button prompts, text legibility and performance are all marked as fine in Valve's report. The game has the same rating for SteamOS in general.

Full voice acting is English only, so English speakers get the game exactly as it was recorded. The interface and subtitles are also available in French, Italian, German and Spanish (Spain).

A note on Japanese: according to Rockstar, Japanese subtitles remain for GTA IV, but for the episodes you have to choose another language.

The base price of GTA IV: The Complete Edition on Steam as of November 6, 2026 is $19.99 (not counting temporary sales). You can also buy the game in the Rockstar Games Launcher. For every version and platform, see the GTA 4 page.

Xbox Store prices as of October 31, 2026. Rockstar has not announced a port to current consoles.

There are two official bars: Steam’s minimum (Core 2 Duo, 1.5 GB of RAM, a 256 MB graphics card) and Rockstar Support’s higher Complete Edition minimum (Core 2 Quad Q6600, 2 GB, 512 MB). It is safer to plan for the second. Rockstar publishes no FPS figures for the Complete Edition, so we will not promise specific numbers either.

For reference: on Steam Deck, Valve marked performance as fine. Once the game runs, codes for health, weapons and vehicles are on the GTA 4 cheats page, and cars and helicopters are in the GTA 4 vehicles guide.