Saints Row 5

Saints Row PC is the official storefront title for the 2022 reboot commonly searched for as Saints Row 5. Developed by Volition and published by Deep Silver, it is a third-person open-world crime sandbox set in Santo Ileso, combining shooting, driving, wingsuit traversal, criminal empire management, and extensive player customization.

The game is not a renamed Saints Row 5 edition. Steam and Epic Games Store list it simply as Saints Row, while Saints Row 5 and Saints Row 2022 remain useful search terms for distinguishing this reboot from earlier entries.

Building a criminal empire in Santo Ileso

Saints Row begins with a customizable Boss working alongside Neenah, Kevin, and Eli. Together, they form a new Saints organization and compete against Los Panteros, the Idols, and Marshall Defense Industries. The story follows the group from financial uncertainty toward control of Santo Ileso.

The core loop alternates between story missions, side hustles, criminal ventures, discoveries, threats, collectibles, and open-world encounters. Progress is not limited to following the campaign. Players can make money through optional activities, invest in businesses, and gradually expand the Saints' influence across the city.

Santo Ileso provides a broad playground with desert roads, urban districts, highways, resorts, industrial areas, and rural spaces. Driving between objectives is part of the experience, but exploration also rewards players with environmental activities, hidden items, fast-travel points, and opportunities to create spontaneous chaos.

Combat uses a third-person shooting perspective with firearms, melee attacks, takedowns, throwable objects, and signature abilities. The action is intentionally arcade-like rather than tactical. Players can use environmental hazards, perform vehicle-based attacks, and exploit abilities such as throwing enemies or planting grenades during takedowns.

Customization that shapes the entire sandbox

The Boss creator is one of the game's defining features. Players can adjust facial details, body features, clothing, voices, accessories, and overall presentation. The system supports highly different character concepts, from grounded gang leaders to deliberately strange custom creations.

Customization extends beyond the protagonist. You can change the appearance of weapons, vehicles, recruits, the Saints' headquarters, and the placement of criminal ventures. The Church headquarters also acts as a wardrobe, garage, planning space, and display area for collectibles discovered around Santo Ileso.

Vehicles have a particularly deep role. The game includes cars, motorcycles, trucks, boats, aircraft, specialty vehicles, and other unusual rides. Vehicle customization covers paint, trim, decals, body parts, wheels, tires, audio, performance upgrades, and equipment such as nitrous, towing cables, and off-road kits.

Individual vehicles can also unlock signature abilities by completing their associated challenges. Depending on the vehicle, these abilities may provide unusual steering, improved mobility, stronger utility, or new ways to disrupt enemies. This gives vehicle collection a practical purpose beyond appearance.

Ventures, activities, and progression

Criminal ventures are the strategic layer of the campaign. Players choose where to establish businesses across Santo Ileso, then complete related tasks to generate income and expand the Saints' operation. Venture placement changes which parts of the city become connected to the player's empire.

Side content includes activities built around driving, combat, wingsuit movement, property damage, deliveries, and other criminal schemes. Some activities are designed as repeatable money-making opportunities, while others reward exploration or unlock cosmetic and gameplay items.

The progression model is closer to a persistent open-world campaign than a role-playing game with strict classes. The Boss can carry different weapons, unlock combat abilities, improve equipment, and approach encounters with a preferred mix of gunplay, mobility, vehicles, and environmental interaction.

Players who prefer a more activity-heavy gang-rebuilding structure can compare the modern reboot with the older open-world crime sandbox Saints Row 2, which places more emphasis on faction campaigns, respect, and territory control.

Base game, expansions, and free additions

The standard package contains the main Saints Row campaign, Santo Ileso, the criminal venture system, customization tools, side activities, and online co-op. It is a paid premium game rather than a free-to-play release.

The Expansion Pass adds three larger content packs: The Heist and The Hazardous, Doc Ketchum's Murder Circus, and A Song of Ice and Dust. The first expansion adds story missions, the Sunshine Springs setting, a helicopter, wingsuit events, cosmetics, and new equipment.

Doc Ketchum's Murder Circus introduces a separate solo horde-style mode on Boot Hill. Players choose from four contestants, fight through escalating encounters, collect BootCoins, open Caskets of Chaos, and earn rewards that can carry back into the main game. Its perks and progression are distinct from the main campaign's systems.

A Song of Ice and Dust expands the wider Saints Row experience with additional campaign content, activities, cosmetics, and rewards. The exact contents available to a player depend on whether the base game, individual add-ons, or an edition containing the Expansion Pass is being used.

Free updates also added quality-of-life improvements, new city areas, missions, cosmetics, combat refinements, selfie mode, emotes, cheats, and other changes to the core experience. This means current versions contain more than the original launch feature set.

Who Saints Row suits best

Saints Row is a strong fit for players who want a lighthearted crime sandbox with a customizable protagonist, accessible shooting, chaotic driving, and plenty of optional distractions. It works especially well for players who enjoy setting their own pace rather than treating every activity as a mandatory objective.

The game is also a natural choice for players who value character and vehicle creation. The Boss editor, wardrobe, weapon skins, vehicle workshop, headquarters decoration, and venture placement provide more personal control than a conventional scripted crime campaign.

Players seeking realistic criminal drama, stealth-first mission design, or highly tactical gunplay may find the tone and combat too broad. Saints Row prioritizes improvisation, spectacle, comedy, and customization over simulation or strict realism.

It is also worth separating this reboot from the more exaggerated superhero direction of Saints Row IV. The 2022 game returns to conventional firearms, vehicles, and gang conflicts, although wingsuit traversal and signature abilities still give the sandbox its own identity.

PC features, co-op, and localization

The PC version supports keyboard and mouse controls as well as controller input. Steam lists single-player, online co-op, cross-platform multiplayer, Steam Achievements, Steam Cloud, Family Sharing, and a third-party EULA.

Online co-op supports two players through the campaign and open-world content. Co-op is drop-in oriented, letting a second player join the host's version of Santo Ileso, complete missions, explore activities, and cause the same kind of unscripted disruption that defines the single-player sandbox.

PC availability changed after the original Epic Games Store period. Saints Row is now listed on Steam as well as Epic Games Store, so players searching for Saints Row 5 should check the storefront name rather than assume that the old Epic-only status still applies.

Current storefront information lists English full audio, with interface and subtitle support covering French, Italian, German, Spanish variants, Portuguese variants, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Czech, and Polish. Exact options can vary slightly by storefront presentation and regional product listing.

For another comparison point, the remastered open-world gang action of Saints Row: The Third offers a more established Saints cast and Steelport setting, while this reboot focuses on a new group and a new city.

Similar PC sandbox experiences

Saints Row sits between a conventional third-person shooter and a freeform driving sandbox. Its closest appeal comes from combining a scripted campaign with optional activities, criminal progression, vehicle collection, and a deliberately comic tone.

Players who want a larger crime-world comparison can look at the story-driven open-world crime sandbox of Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced. GTA V is more focused on authored characters, heists, and a more grounded presentation, while Saints Row gives greater emphasis to avatar customization, absurd abilities, and building ventures across the map.

Within the Saints Row series, Saints Row 2 is the more street-level and gang-management-focused option, Saints Row: The Third is the most immediately theatrical traditional entry, and Saints Row IV shifts heavily toward superpowers and science-fiction parody. The reboot is positioned between those extremes.

Saints Row PC FAQ

Is Saints Row 5 the official name?

No. The official PC storefront title is Saints Row. Saints Row 5 and Saints Row 2022 are common unofficial search names used to identify the reboot and distinguish it from earlier games.

Is Saints Row on Steam now?

Yes. The PC game is currently listed on Steam, and the Steam version advertises online co-op and cross-platform multiplayer. Epic Games Store also has a Windows listing, so the game is no longer limited to a single PC storefront.

Does Saints Row support online co-op?

Yes. The campaign and open-world activities support two-player online co-op. The host controls the session, while the joining player can participate in missions, combat, driving, exploration, and side activities.

What is included in the Expansion Pass?

The Expansion Pass includes The Heist and The Hazardous, Doc Ketchum's Murder Circus, and A Song of Ice and Dust. Separate cosmetic packs and free content are also available, so an edition containing the pass should not automatically be treated as every individual add-on unless the storefront says so.

Can the Boss and vehicles be customized?

Yes. The game supports extensive Boss customization plus customization for weapons, vehicles, recruits, the Saints headquarters, and venture placement. Vehicle challenges can also unlock signature abilities for individual rides.

Does Saints Row have a traditional campaign?

Yes. It has a persistent story campaign centered on building the Saints organization and taking control of Santo Ileso. Optional ventures, side hustles, discoveries, threats, collectibles, and repeatable activities provide additional progression outside the main missions.