How to play GTA RP: what you need and how to start.
GTA RP is GTA V on community-run servers where you play one character and stay in it. It runs on FiveM, a free client for Windows PCs, so you need a PC and your own copy of GTA V. Here is the whole path, from install to your first night, with the rules every server shares.
What you need.
Rockstar's own description of the genre:
"GTA Roleplay transforms Grand Theft Auto V into a community-run, multiplayer version of Los Santos where players create their own characters and tell their own stories"
Source: Rockstar Newswire, Introducing nopixel V, 1 September 2026, read 7 Oct 2026
A Windows PC
FiveM runs on Windows 10 and 11. It does not run on PlayStation or Xbox: what console players can do instead.
GTA V for PC, bought and up to date
FiveM works with GTA V Legacy. FiveM for GTAV Enhanced, in early access, needs GTA V Enhanced. A pirated copy will not work:
"FiveM does not condone the use of pirated software and will not work with illegitimate versions of GTAV."
Source: FiveM docs, where to buy GTAV, read 7 Oct 2026
The free FiveM client
Download it from fivem.net. Downloading it means agreeing to Rockstar's Creator Platform License Agreement.
Source: fivem.net, read 7 Oct 2026
A Discord account
Servers usually post their rules, take applications and answer questions on Discord.
A headset with a microphone
Roleplay is played out loud, in character. Some servers require a working mic and push-to-talk, and their rules say so.
FiveM's system requirements
| Version | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| FiveM, for GTA V Legacy | Windows 10. Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 or AMD Phenom 9850. NVIDIA 9800 GT or AMD HD 4870, 1GB. 4GB RAM. 125GB + 4GB disk. | Windows 11. Intel Core i5 3470 or AMD FX-8350. NVIDIA GTX 660 or AMD HD 7870, 2GB. 8GB RAM. 125GB + 8GB disk. |
| FiveM for GTAV Enhanced, early access | Windows 10. Intel Core i7-4770 or AMD FX-9590. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 or AMD Radeon RX 6400, 4GB. 8GB RAM. 105GB + 4GB disk. | Windows 11. Intel Core i5-9600K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 or AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, 8GB. 16GB RAM. 105GB + 8GB disk. |
Source: fivem.net, system requirements, read 7 Oct 2026
Install FiveM.
Four steps, from FiveM's own instructions.
- 01
Install and update GTA V
FiveM's first instruction is to make sure GTA V is installed and updated.
- 02
Download FiveM
From fivem.net: FiveM for GTA V Legacy, or FiveM for GTAV Enhanced if you own the Enhanced edition.
- 03
Run FiveM.exe
Run it in an empty folder and it installs there. Otherwise it installs to %localappdata%\FiveM.
- 04
Start FiveM
Open it from the Start menu. If your antivirus stops it, allow FiveM: the docs list that as a prerequisite.
Source: FiveM docs, installing FiveM, read 7 Oct 2026
Pick a server.
At our reading on 7 Oct 2026, 11:03 am Sydney time, 556 English-language roleplay servers had players, 28,131 people in all. The biggest had 989.
How serious it is
Serious servers expect you in character the whole time; casual ones are looser. Servers describe themselves in their tags and description, and our filters read those words: 304 call themselves serious and 95 casual.
Where it is
A server close to you lags less. Filter the list by region.
Whether you have to apply
Whitelisted servers make you apply before you can play; others let you straight in. 91 of the 556 say they are whitelisted.
Getting into a whitelisted server.
Applications are usually a form linked from the server's Discord. Expect questions about your age, your character and the server's rules, and expect to wait for an answer. Play on a server without a whitelist in the meantime: it is the quickest way to learn the rules every server shares.
Some servers are invite-only. nopixel, the server Rockstar featured on its newswire in September 2026, opened its new version as a closed beta:
"invited players will access the experience through the Rockstar Games Launcher"
Source: Rockstar Newswire, Introducing nopixel V, 1 September 2026, read 7 Oct 2026
Make a character, not a loadout.
You play one person, and their story carries on from one session to the next. Give them a name that sounds real, a reason to be in Los Santos, a first job and one flaw.
Keep your own knowledge out of their head. If you learned something from a stream or a Discord chat, your character does not know it.
Words you will see in server rules.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| IC and OOC | In character and out of character. Talking out of character in the middle of a scene breaks it. |
| RDM | Random deathmatch: attacking someone without a roleplay reason. |
| VDM | Vehicle deathmatch: using a vehicle as a weapon without a roleplay reason. |
| Metagaming | Using something your character could not know, such as what you saw on a stream. |
| Powergaming | Forcing an outcome the other player cannot answer, or doing things no real person could. |
| Value of life | Acting as if your life matters. Shrugging off a gun in your face is called NVL: not valuing life. |
| FailRP | Doing something that could not happen in real life to get ahead. |
| Combat logging | Quitting the game to escape a scene. |
Every server writes its own rulebook in its own words, and theirs is the one that counts. Read it before you connect.
Your first night.
- 01
Read the rules
On the server's Discord, before you connect.
- 02
Check your voice
Test your mic and push-to-talk before you walk into a scene.
- 03
Expect a queue
Popular servers fill up. At our reading, 17 servers had 90% or more of their slots taken.
- 04
Start small
Take a starter job. Jobs are how you meet people, and the people are the game.
- 05
Ask out of character
Use the server's help channel on Discord, not the middle of a scene.
- 06
Do not go looking for streamers
If you watch someone on the same server, using what you saw to find them in game is metagaming.
Ready to look?
556 English roleplay servers, ranked by who is actually playing. Nobody pays to move up.
Find a server The biggest servers by style
Sources checked 7 October 2026. Server numbers are from our reading of the official FiveM list on 7 Oct 2026, 11:03 am Sydney time.