Transferring GTA Online Characters To Xbox One and PS4

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So you’ve just got home from work/school/logistical solutions (whatever the hell that is) and there’s a cellophane-coated box on your coffee table. Nestled within its plastic embrace is your copy of GTA V for Xbox One/PlayStation 4. Yes it’s ok to be excited.

No, it isn’t ok to be that excited… Seriously.

You dive in and do a few single player missions only to feel that itch on the back of your head, the one begging you to go dive into GTA Online. Before you go running off into the mist though don’t forget; you can transfer some of your GTA Online progress from when you had GTA V on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 to your shiny new box. To help you out with that, there’s a step by step guide to make the process a little easier.

Before you even consider doing this there are a couple of things you’ll need. The first, obviously, is either a physical or digital copy of GTA V on Xbox One or PlayStation 4. If you don’t have this then you’re already going to have problems. Next up you’ll need to have a character from your previous jaunts into the world of GTA Online. This can be on either Xbox Live or PSN. Tied into this of course is your ownership of a Rockstar Social Club account as this will be used to basically lift your data from one console to the other. It was part of the process when getting into GTA V‘s multi-player mode in the first place so if you don’t have this then frankly I’d like to know how you managed to play.

Last but by no means least ensure that you have the corresponding premium edition of whichever console’s subscription service you use, having an Xbox Live Gold account for transferring to Xbox One for example.

When you’ve checked all of those boxes it’s time to get transferring your GTA Online character to your most recent version of GTA V. Please note: You will only be able to transfer ONE of your characters so make sure it’s either your best or your favorite. There is no going back after you choose the one you’ll be transferring.

Stuff That Will Be Transferred

• Your Rank and RP will obviously be coming along for the ride. What would be the point in doing this whole thing without them anyway.
• Any unlocks and all of the contacts you’ve made will transfer alongside any job progress.
• Pretty much everything linked to your character like vehicles, clothing and even weapon attachments will come along for the ride (note that at the time of writing, on PS4 my cars still haven’t appeared in my garage).
• Any jobs that have been created and your current crew membership
• The achievements you’ve earned within GTA Online so far. If you want to rack up more gamerscore you’ll have to leave the previous GTA Online progress behind. Sorry achievement hunters.
• Your bank balance will also come along for the journey, assuming it was gained through gameplay and not with micro transactions (more on that in a moment).

Stuff That Will Not Be Transferred

• Any placements on Leaderboards or World Records will not return so you’ll be going for those again.
• Snapmatic photos will not be available in game, however they are stored on your Rockstar Social Club account.

Stuff That Might Be Transferred

• Published Job Playlists and Bookmarks will only be transferred within the same console manufacturer. For example, if you bookmarked several jobs on PS3 and you’re now playing on Xbox One you’ll have to do it all again.
• Cash purchased with real world money follows the same rules as above. If you bought it on Xbox 360 and you’re playing on Xbox One then it will follow. If you’re going to PS4 though, it will be lost to the mists of the internet forever.

The Transfer

Load up your copy of GTA V and get to GTA Online via the pause menu or the character selection wheel. After the transfer is completed you will be invited to change your character’s appearance but you can defer this for now and just get the transfer done if you want to get back to playing. GTA V will tell you that there may be a short delay in the movement of your character. It took me a matter of seconds to see mine transferred but depending on how busy the servers become, you may have to wait a little longer.

When this is complete you’ve got your old character back… almost. First of all you’re going to need to actually jump into choose a character. The easiest way to do this is via the pause menu. At this point you’ll be greeted with a screen featuring your old character and a completely blank new one. Select your old character, change their appearance if you feel it necessary and you’re back in the world of GTA Online.

Do remember that right now PlayStation 4 owners are having some issues getting into GTA Online due to an issue which is being resolved by Rockstar as you read this. The same also goes for accounts which haven’t been used since 2013.