Trending: the Tech Behind GTA VI · Part 3 (Why does…?) — a giant city and no loading screens: how?

// WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

Only the area around you sits in RAM; the next blocks stream from a fast SSD (≈ 5.5 GB/s PS5 raw vs ≈ 0.1 GB/s old hard drive).

// LESSON NOTES

GTA VI: a giant city — and no loading screens. How?! 🌆💾

🧠 The whole city can't fit in the console's memory (16 GB).
📍 So it keeps only the blocks around you.
🚗 As you drive, the next blocks stream in from the SSD — just in time!
⚡ The PS5's SSD reads 5.5 GB every second (Xbox Series X: 2.4 GB/s).
🤔 An old console hard drive? About 0.1 GB/s — around 50× slower!
🛗 That's why old games hid loading in lifts, tunnels and loading screens.

Read the voiceover (transcript)
  1. GTA six: no loading screens. How?!
  2. The whole city can't fit in the console's memory.
  3. It keeps only the blocks around you.
  4. As you drive, new blocks stream in from the SSD!
  5. That's five and a half gigabytes a second!
  6. And an old hard drive?
  7. About fifty times slower!
  8. So old games hid it in lifts and tunnels!
  9. Part four: a GTA six quiz! Don't miss it, follow!

Related lessons