Delaying GTA 6 on PC would be a smart move by Rockstar but gamers will be livid

05 December 2023 , 15:11

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Rockstar Games has yet to confirm when, or if, GTA 6 will be released on PC (Image: Rockstar Games)

With the GTA 6 trailer now out in the wild – albeit a bit earlier than Rockstar Games planned – the teaser curiously omits any mention of GTA 6 on PC.

The GTA 6 trailer released early following a leak on social media, with Rockstar Games dealing with it head-on by deciding to showcase GTA 6 to the world over 12 hours earlier than the initially planned GTA 6 trailer release time. Despite being just one and a half minutes long, there was a lot of information packed into the GTA 6 trailer, with the video confirming the next GTA title will be set in Vice City once again, as well as confirming the game's two protagonists; Lucia and an unnamed man, who it seems will have a Bonnie and Clyde-like relationship.

We saw most of what we wanted to see from the GTA 6 trailer, with a strong musical soundtrack, a graphically fantastic setting, no mention of GTA Online and even a release date – at least, for the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, because there was no mention at all of GTA 6 on PC. The omission of a GTA 6 PC release date has, unsurprisingly, generated quite a response from players on that platform, who had to endure a two-year wait for GTA 5 to be released on PC, following its initial 2013 launch on PS3 and Xbox 360.

Good for business, bad for players

Look, simply put: this sucks. This is a terrible anti-consumer move being made in the interest of making some sweet coin. No other game series has the pull that GTA has, so obviously if any company can get away with it, it's Rockstar. The FOMO that players are going to experience when the game launches on console in 2025 is probably going to be enough for people who are staunchly PC gamers to pick up a PS5 or Xbox Series X|S to play it, and Rockstar knows this. It also knows that people are going to buy a second copy of the game when it finally does come to PC. I would know first-hand as someone who bought GTA 5 on PS3 and PC.

Also, despite Rockstar doing this in the past with the likes of GTA 4, GTA 5, and Red Dead Redemption 2, I'm shocked that the GTA 6 PC release is also likely going to be delayed. When even previous console-exclusive series like Persona and Like a Dragon are releasing games on PC day one now, it's shocking to see a developer who has always supported PC pulling something like this.

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Considering the incredible popularity of roleplay servers on GTA 5 – which led to Rockstar announcing it was buying the developers of one of the biggest roleplay servers – I wholeheartedly thought the company would take advantage of this huge spike in popularity the game had on PC. Turns out Rockstar is just taking advantage in a different way.

Nathan Bliss