We've all seen some wild GTA 5 mods over the years. Despite being almost a decade old, GTA 5 remains one of the most popular games ever; as of 2022, sales sit at over 160 million.
Although Rockstar Games has now announced that it’s working on GTA 6, the much-coveted sequel is still a good few years away from being released - which is just as well, since there’s plenty of life left in GTA 5, especially if you're open to modding your game.
These are free modifications made have been made by a passionate community of gamers. Not only do they give GTA 5 an overhaul when it comes to visuals by giving it a truly modern rework, but they can also add extra gameplay features that make it feel like a totally new experience.
Over the past nine years, GTA 5 has built up a huge library of mods, so it can be difficult to find the best ones that are actually worth installing. While many GTA 5 mods are excellent, there are also a huge amount which, sadly, aren’t very useful at all - or might even be game-breaking.
So, to make things as easy as possible, we’ve highlighted the very best GTA 5 mods that you can install in 2022, as well as a step-by-step guide for how to install GTA 5 mods for the PC.
The best GTA 5 mods
GTA 5 mods: How to install mods on your PC
The best GTA 5 mods can breathe new life into Grand Theft Auto V, but you need to do a couple of things before you begin tweaking the game. Follow these steps, and you’ll be playing the best GTA 5 mods in no time.
Install Script Hook V for GTA 5
The first tool you need is Script Hook V. Download the .zip file, then open it up and copy the ScriptHookV.dll file to the main GTA V folder where GTA5.exe is. For people using Steam, this is found in \SteamApps\common\Grand Theft Auto V\ on the drive where you installed GTA 5.
Also copy over dsound.dll and NativeTrainer.asi to the same folder.
Get the GTAV LUA Plugin
Some mods also require the GTAV LUA Plugin. Download and open the .zip file, then move LUA.asi into the same folder at GTA5.exe (as in step 1).
With those two tools you should be able to download and run any GTA 5 mod. Different mods have different instructions, so read them carefully when you download them. Most should simply need copying over to the main GTA 5 folder.
However, when you download a mod that requires the LUA Plugin, make sure you copy the LUA file that comes with the mod into the ‘addins’ folder, which itself can be found in the ‘scripts’ folder of GTA 5.
Now you should be ready to install and play the best GTA 5 mods.
GTA 5 mods: GTA V Redux
GTA V Redux is our pick of the best GTA 5 mod of all time. It brings a huge graphical overhaul to GTA 5, with 4K textures, new weather effects, and much more. After seven years GTA 5 isn’t looking as cutting-edge as it once was, but GTA V Redux makes it look as good as any modern game.
Not only does it bring graphical improvements, but also makes vehicles handle better, fixes the police system so it’s more fair and improves NPC behaviour, so people in Los Santos act more believably.
GTA 5 mods: Open All Interiors
The world of GTA 5 is large and wonderfully realized, but there are many buildings that you can't access. There are certainly fewer buildings you can enter than previous games, it feels. However, the Open All Interiors mod for GTA 5 changes all of that, by allowing you to enter a large number of previously inaccessible buildings.
Not only does this make an already large map even larger, but it helps make the world of GTA 5 even more immersive and realistic.
GTA 5 mods: Complex Control
If you want a GTA 5 mod that essentially changes every aspect of the game, then Complex Control is the mod for you. It brings battle royale mechanics, popularized in games like PUBG and Fortnite to GTA 5, as well as over 100 unique character skins, new abilities and a lot more.
Complex Control is a perfect example of how ambitious the best GTA 5 mods can be.
Best GTA 5 mods: Gang and Turf
GTA 5 is the spiritual successor of the PlayStation 2’s GTA: San Andreas, being both set in the fictional state of San Andreas. However, while GTA 5 improves on a lot of the PS2 game, there are some noticeable absences, such as the fun gang warfare feature.
If you were gutted that GTA 5 didn’t include that, then you can relive it with the Gang and Turf mod.
GTA 5 mods: Funny Vehicles Pack
Fill GTA 5 with ridiculous – and famous – vehicles with the Funny Vehicles PacK #1 and Funny Vehicles Pack #2. With these mods installed, you can ride around in cars such as The Poolmobile, which features a tiny swimming pool, BBQ and sunbathers, as well as iconic vehicles like the motor home from Breaking Bad.
GTA 5 mods: Gravity Gun
Bring a touch of Half Life 2-inspired chaos to GTA 5 with the Gravity Gun script. Simply equip the gun like you would with any other weapon in GTA 5, then hold down E on the keyboard to pick up basically anything in the world, including cars, pedestrians and animals, then fire them off into the distance. Ridiculously fun.
GTA 5 mods: NaturalVision Evolved
NaturalVision Evolved is a highly ambitious GTA 5 mod that aims to take the graphics of Grand Theft Auto V to a whole new level. While there are plenty of great visual mods for GTA 5 out there, NaturalVision Evolved goes even further, and gives us a hint of what GTA 6 could look like in the future.
Unlike other mods on this list, NaturalVision Evolved is a work in progress, and you need to pay for early access. Usually this would be a bit of a red flag, but it does seem like this is a truly ambitious mod. Plus, you can try a (very) early version of it for free.
GTA 5 mods: GTA Iron Man Armor
Put a bit of the MCU in GTA with the GTA Iron Man Armor mod, which lets you suit up and blast around San Andreas. Not only does it let you take to the skies, but it’s also a brutal weapon as well, and allows you to dish out justice using rockets and repulsor blasters.
