Summary
Grand Theft Auto 6will be skipping PC at launch because the developers “want to prioritize what sells,” a former Rockstar staffer has said.Rockstar officially unveiledGTA 6on December 4, stating that the much-anticipated game is planned to reach the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S sometime in 2025.
Since the game’s long-awaited announcement made no mention of personal computers, the fandom took this to mean thatGTA 6is skipping PC at launch. Such a turn of events would be in line with Rockstar’s long-standing track record, as the latest mainline series entry that was treated to a day-one multi-platform release on both PC and consoles wasGTA 2, which launched back in the late ’90s.
Former Rockstar animator Mike York agrees with that assumption, having recentlysaid that the PC port ofGTA 6is likely to take longer to develop. The industry veteran expanded on that sentiment in a December 11 YouTube video that saw him assert Rockstar always wants to “prioritize what sells.” Specifically, the company’s number one focus has historically been PlayStation, with York recalling how Rockstar initially prioritized the PS3 during his time working onGTA 5, even though the Xbox 360 version of the game was developed simultaneously.
And though Rockstar wasn’t expecting the Xbox 360 port to outsell the PS3 version ofGTA 5, developing them in tandem was still feasible because it only required the studio to target two systems, York said. In contrast, optimizing it for PC was a monumental undertaking due to the sheer volume of hardware configurations that the developer had to account for. The ex-Rockstar staffer believes the same will be true forGrand Theft Auto 6, which is why its PC port is bound to take longer.
[PC optimization] might be harder than rocket science in some situations.
York did acknowledge that PC gaming has been on the rise in recent years, implying that the trend of largely console-driven AAA sales might not hold true forever. But even should PC sales overtake their console counterparts, it’s always going to be easier to optimize games for one or two systems than a massive variety thereof. So, out of all thetop reasons why Rockstar historically avoided PC at launch, the fact that PC optimization “might be harder than rocket science in some situations” is certainly up there, York said.
The former Rockstar animator hence urged fans to remain patient while knowing that the studio is doing everything it can to deliver the best possible game. Time will tell when that title will actually reach PC, although 2027 does not sound like an impossible launch window, assumingGTA 6releases on the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in late 2025.
Grand Theft Auto 6
WHERE TO PLAY
Grand Theft Auto VI heads to the state of Leonida, home to the neon-soaked streets of Vice City and beyond in the biggest, most immersive evolution of the Grand Theft Auto series yet.Jason and Lucia have always known the deck is stacked against them. But when an easy score goes wrong, they find themselves on the darkest side of the sunniest place in America, in the middle of a criminal conspiracy stretching across the state of Leonida — forced to rely on each other more than ever if they want to make it out alive.
