Over a decade after its initial release, Grand Theft Auto V remains one of the most popular video games today. The key to its lasting appeal lies in the variety of gameplay made possible by mods created by its passionate fan community. One mod stands out for fundamentally expanding and enhancing the GTA multiplayer experience – FiveM.
What is FiveM, and Why Has It Become So Popular?
FiveM is a multiplayer platform built specifically for Grand Theft Auto V on PC. It unlocks a myriad of new multiplayer modes, servers, and gameplay customization through mods.
As of January 2024, FiveM hosts over 1,700 active servers with diverse gameplay options. If you download FiveM, you can make friends or connect with new players from around the world.
FiveM’s popularity has exploded for a good reason. It taps into core desires of the GTA fanbase – experiencing the acclaimed open world with friends, expressing creativity through mods and roleplaying, and enjoying absurd, unexpected fun afforded by the thriving community.
For developers and server hosts, FiveM provides powerful modding and scripting tools to create entirely new gameplay modes or even games using GTA V as a base.
Downloading and Getting Started with FiveM
To play on FiveM, players need a licensed copy of the PC version of GTA V through Steam, Epic Games, or the Rockstar Social Club.
The next step is visiting the FiveM website to download the free client. After agreeing to the Terms of Service, the small 5MB installer will be saved to your computer.
Run the FiveM installer once downloaded. In most cases, it will automatically find your GTA V folder. If not, you may need to select the file path manually:
- Steam Version File Path: Disk:SteamsteamappscommonGrand Theft Auto V
- Rockstar Social Club Version File Path: C:Program Files(x86)Rockstar GamesSocial Club
The installer adds the necessary files for FiveM (around 200MB total) and sets up the folder structure so that it runs separately from your main GTA V.
With setup complete, launch FiveM from your applications menu and start playing!
Exploring FiveM – What Should New Players Do?
Upon launching FiveM for the first time, you may feel overwhelmed by the sheer variety of servers and game modes available. Here is a quick guide for new players to get started:
Browse servers. Use the in-app server browser to filter and view server descriptions, images, and player counts. Servers are tagged with genres like Roleplay, Minigames, Racing, and more.
Join a newbie-friendly server. Look for servers labeled as “newcomer,” “beginner,” or “training” friendly. These will offer guides and assistance in getting started.
Learn the basics. Explore the open world or play simple game modes to understand basic controls and systems like chatting, driving vehicles, using weapons and more.
Find servers that interest you. Roleplaying, competitive racing, and minigames servers all play very differently. Join servers that match your interests, not just the most popular ones.
Download mods. Many servers utilize client-side mods like graphical upgrades, new vehicles or quality of life improvements. Download mods from sites like FiveMods if prompted.
Read server rules. Every server has unique rules to know ranging from roleplay etiquette to restrictions on griefing. Be sure to read and understand rules before fully participating.
The Future of FiveM
A key reason for FiveM’s success is its passionate creator community, which constantly releases new mods, scripts, game modes, and more. Here are some notable recent developments:
Lifelike Roleplaying – In-depth mods like vMenu add deep character customization for roleplaying realistically as police, criminals, civilians and more. From appearances to animations and actions, roleplaying feels more immersive than ever before.
Persistent World Building – Servers like Eclipse RP, SOC City RP, and others now feature persistent worlds where player actions have lasting impacts from session to session. Join gangs, businesses, or government agencies and shape the city’s long-term dynamics.
Competitive Racing – Dedicated racing servers offer meticulously crafted custom tracks for competitive racing and drifting with fully simulated vehicle physics and leaderboards tracking rankings.
Mini Game Variety – Escape room puzzles, zombie survival, casino games, and more – minigame servers offer bite-sized fun, often with entirely new maps and gameplay logic coded from scratch.
Accessibility Features – Recent updates have added support for controllers, text to speech and speech to text features to improve accessibility for disabled gamers.
The Bottom Line
FiveM has fundamentally expanded GTA multiplayer into a platform to create almost any conceivable gameplay experience. For players, it enables making friends and memories across thousands of community-run worlds. For creators, it opens endless possibilities to sculpt the future of what’s possible with GTA roleplaying, racing, mini games and more.
With constant innovation from its community, FiveM will continue driving GTA V’s engagement for years to come while pioneering the future of open-world multiplayer gameplay.
