Free ‘GTA’ Mod Transforms Gameplay with ‘San Andreas’

Rockstar has long been a giant in the gaming industry, delivering some of the most cherished titles out there. Yet, many of these games haven’t seen the virtual reality treatment fans have been clamoring for—until now. Enter modder ‘Holydh,’ who’s got something new up his sleeves for PC gamers. Using his tweaked UEVR plugin, the 2021 release of GTA: San Andreas – The Definitive Edition can now be experienced in VR on PC headsets.

The creation, dubbed the ‘GTA San Andreas Definitive Edition – 6DoF UEVR Plugin,’ brings the game to new life with first-person VR and 6DOF motion controls, exclusively for the Steam version. It’s a bit of a letdown for those with copies from the Epic Games Store or Rockstar launcher, as Holydh points out, because his magic won’t work there.

This mod builds off the Unreal Engine VR plugin by ‘praydog’ and adds a few more bells and whistles. Without Holydh’s enhancements, you’d be stuck with a camera that insists on directing its gaze wherever CJ goes. But thanks to the plugin, you not only enjoy smooth foot movement (crouching included) and vehicle driving (even that memorable jetpack!), but also enjoy refined camera comfort, automated UEVR camera adjustments during cutscenes, and weapons that you can control with your motions. Sniping is a breeze too, making it possible to experience the entire classic adventure from beginning to end in VR.

Curious to see it in action? Holydh has a preview you can check out right below.

If you’re keen to try it yourself, you can grab Holydh’s mod from Nexus Mods without dropping a dime. Just a heads-up—it’ll work only on the Steam version, and you’ll need Praydog’s UEVR Nightly 01042 build. Don’t worry, it’s linked on the Nexus Mods page itself.

Not sure if your setup can handle it? Users mention that even an NVIDIA RTX 2080 does the trick, though the mod allows for tweaking the graphics settings if your rig is showing its age.

While the mod’s open-source nature allows for community tinkering via GitHub, it’s worth remembering the litigious history of Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two. They’ve had a hand in shutting down mods before, like those from Luke Ross in 2022, who had VR modifications for GTA 5, Red Dead Redemption 2, and the Mafia Definitive Edition. Take-Two didn’t go after Ross directly, but after Patreon, due to the mods being part of paid tiers. This UEVR and Holydh combo doesn’t have the same handicap since it’s free, so it might be your best bet for enjoying GTA: San Andreas in VR for the long haul.

For now, if you’ve been looking forward to an official VR release from Rockstar on the Quest, you might need to brace yourself for a wait, as it’s been put on hold indefinitely.