The latest Grand Theft Auto 6 leak, straight from the Rockstar Games Launcher, hints at the active development of a PC port.
We all knew this would be inevitable, but having something to back it up with does feel nice — Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick can play coy and skirt around the topic all he wants, but the fact is that Rockstar Games is working on a PC port of Grand Theft Auto 6.
Earlier this week, Rockstar Games released a new update for Grand Theft Auto Online, introducing an anti-cheat program for the game's 11th-anniversary update. Most fans saw this and immediately thought of it as Rockstar's way of testing a potential launch feature for GTA 6, which would be huge for its online component, especially on PC.
However, Rockstar has a history of delaying the PC release of its games, so it does stand to question why Rockstar is testing this feature out so early. The answer may lie in the complexities of game development, even when it's "just" a port we're talking about; getting ahead of things can be essential.
Alongside the BattleEye update for GTA Online, the update initially contained three folders that probably should've been kept private: a GTAV Gen9 folder, a Red Dead Redemption folder, and an Americas folder. Rockstar quickly scrubbed these, but the cat was already out of the bag.
GTAV Gen9 refers to the incoming PC port of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S or X version of Grand Theft Auto 5, the Expanded and Enhanced Edition, which came out over two years ago and continues to enjoy exclusive features like GTA+ and other weekly content updates, plus more
The Red Dead Redemption folder is pretty self-explanatory, considering that a PC release of the 2010 title has been rumored for the past year. This then leaves us with the Americas folder—the alleged internal codename for GTA 6 used by Rockstar.
GTA 6 isn't set to be released on the PS5 and Xbox Series S/X until 2025, leaving a PC release sometime in 2026 if not 2027 (the latter is likely, joked Obbe Vermeij on X, who believes a GTA 6 delay isn't impossible) most probable. However, what if Rockstar decided to release the game on the PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X simultaneously?
Ever since Sony and Rockstar shook hands with Grand Theft Auto III after its initial development started on the SEGA Dreamcast—you might want to check out the ongoing Dreamcast port that could potentially lead to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City appearing on the same platform—Rockstar has released every GTA game on consoles first.
While this is already a tough pill to swallow, the worst part is that each entry has taken longer and longer to get a PC port, with GTA 5 taking well over a year. Rockstar does seem to love neglecting PC players, not just in the port department.
Even if we are risking making much ado about nothing, the appearance of an in-development PC port of GTA 6 alongside the BattleEye update for GTA Online is curious, to say the least. For starters, it could mean that Rockstar is already finished with the bulk of the work of GTA 6 on PS5 and Xbox Series S/X, freeing them up to work on a PC port.
Rockstar could also have made significant headway on all three potential platforms for GTA 6 at launch. Both of these things are good for PC players. The former could mean the wait for a PC port of GTA 6 will be shorter than expected. The latter suggests that GTA 6's development is going smoothly, so a three-platform release for 2025 is possible.
Financially, though, it still makes the most sense for Rockstar stagger the release of GTA 6, spreading it from 2025 through 2028, which is when the PlayStation 6 and the next Xbox are rumored to launch.
Ultimately, this development means well for GTA 6, as it all but confirms that GTA 6's online component on the PC will have BattleEye anti-cheat protection at launch, protection that has already benefitted from at least a year or two of tweaks and optimizations following its console implementation in GTA Online.
