There's really only one reason for Rockstar to release Grand Theft Auto 6 later on PC

GamesActionGrand Theft AutoGrand Theft Auto 6There’s really only one reason for Rockstar to release Grand Theft Auto 6 later on PCWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Rockstar)

A man with purple hair and face tattoos poses for a mugshot in the GTA 6 trailer.

Back in 2020, PC Gamer strategic director Evan Lahti wrote thatPC won the console war, and that assessment feels more true now than it did four years ago. Our platform of choice has the same advantages it’s always had⁠—customization, modding, practically infinite backwards compatibility⁠—but in recent years we’ve also become a dragnet for formerly console exclusive games.

Microsoft threw in the towelbefore the start of our current console generation, and despite Nintendo’svociferous insistence to the contrary, you can still legally emulate your games on PC. Sony still pushes its goofy PSN requirement and a six month to one year exclusivity window on its juiciest releases, but that strategy makes sense⁠—I don’t like it, but it lines up with Sony betting its gaming future on its hardware⁠.

There is one big thorn remaining on the console exclusivity front, though, and it’s all the more aggravating because it doesn’t really make sense the way Sony or Nintendo’s protectiveness does: Why do we always have to wait so goddamn long for Rockstar games?

Make it make sense

Square Enix was like this for a long time as well, despite being a third party publisher. Final Fantasy 16 and the FF7 remakes can at least be explained as failed bets: Squeenix tooktimed exclusivity dealswith Sony that ultimately do not seem to have justified thelost sales, and the JRPG giant looks to bereconsidering that strategymoving forward.

There’s no such simple, immediate answer for why Red Dead Redemption 2 came to PC a full year after PS4 and Xbox, or why Grand Theft Auto 5 graced two separate console generations before arriving on PC. The worst, for my money, is the original Red Dead Redemption: We’ll finally have it on our platform of choice at the end of this month with a $50 price tag, 14 years after its initial launch. The Nintendo Switch, a console running on early 2010s tablet technology, got RDR1 before we did!

Rockstar’s PC track record has only gotten worse over time.

It’s not a technical problem. Porting a videogame isn’t nothing, even in the era of consoles that are just specialized PCs. But for a company of Rockstar’s size and resources, I have trouble believing a PC port for one of its games is anything other than a routine exercise. As PCG hardware writer Nick Evanson pointed out last December:There’s no technical reason Rockstar can give for why a PC version of GTA 6 isn’t arriving with the console release.

It was frustrating, though more understandable, when Japanese game developer Capcom took an extra seven months to bringMonster Hunter: Worldto PC in 2018. World was the first-ever Monster Hunter on PC (outside an Asia-only MMO spin-off), and it took a few months of patches for Capcom to get the interface and performance right. The studio’s way better at PC now—and would you look at that, the next Monster Hunter is gonnarelease on PC day one.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

At the time of writing, Rockstar hasn’t even confirmed that GTA 6 will release on PCat all. With no clear explanation forthcoming, the most logical conclusion is a boring one: Rockstar banks on a second revenue bump from its games' PC releases, a little afterburner of profit that includes no shortage of PC-favoring players who buy the game twice.

(Image credit: Rockstar)

gta 6 trailer

That’s savvy profit maximization from Rockstar, but it’s also an alienating, insulting stance toward PC gamers that could hurt the studio in the long run. In 2023PC gaming’s overall revenue grew 8%while consoles stagnated at 0.5% growth. Consoles still hold a larger market share overall, but a large chunk of its 28% is the Nintendo’s Switch (a console Rockstar does not do business on) as well as the surprisingly large number of gamers still clinging to their PS4s (and the five or so with Xbox Ones hooked up).

Rockstar certainly has the opportunity to stop snubbing PC players⁠—a huge market that should be no developer’s afterthought⁠—before that happens, but when has long-term growth and stability ever been prioritized over short-term wins in the games industry? Given the inherent inertia of an operation the size of Rockstar, GTA 6’s PC launch plan is likely set in stone. Unless, of course, Sam Houser has some kind of A Christmas Carol change of heart this holiday season—you never know!

GTA 6: Everything we knowGTA 5 mods: Revved upGTA 5 cheats: Phone it inGTA 6 cars: The lineupSan Andreas cheats: All the codes

GTA 6GTA 5 modsGTA 5 cheatsGTA 6 carsSan Andreas cheats

GTA 6: Everything we knowGTA 5 mods: Revved upGTA 5 cheats: Phone it inGTA 6 cars: The lineupSan Andreas cheats: All the codes

TOPICSRockstar

TOPICS

More about grand theft autoPerforming Hamlet in GTA Online felt like going back in time to the Globe Theatre where ‘people would just throw apples at you, or there were prostitutes coming and going,’ say award-winning filmmakersGTA 6 was never going to be at The Game Awards, but it is a little surprising that we haven’t seen another trailer yetLatestCruel is a frantic run-and-gun shooter where you boot cultists out of windows in a cursed apartment block that wants you deadSee more latest►

More about grand theft auto

Performing Hamlet in GTA Online felt like going back in time to the Globe Theatre where ‘people would just throw apples at you, or there were prostitutes coming and going,’ say award-winning filmmakersGTA 6 was never going to be at The Game Awards, but it is a little surprising that we haven’t seen another trailer yet

A still from Grand Theft Hamlet.

Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer still - woman in the front seat of a car, looking out the back window while holding a wad of cash

GTA 6 was never going to be at The Game Awards, but it is a little surprising that we haven’t seen another trailer yet

LatestCruel is a frantic run-and-gun shooter where you boot cultists out of windows in a cursed apartment block that wants you deadSee more latest►

Latest

Cruel is a frantic run-and-gun shooter where you boot cultists out of windows in a cursed apartment block that wants you dead

Cruel

Cruel is a frantic run-and-gun shooter where you boot cultists out of windows in a cursed apartment block that wants you dead

See more latest►

Most Popular

This bizarre roguelike has a new take on the Vampire Survivors formula: letting you build your own custom weapons out of brains, eyeballs, and chimpanzee spines

18 games the PC Gamer team can’t wait to play in 2025

The Witcher 3’s now 2-year-old bonus quest is our first taste of the ‘vibe’ CD Projekt is going for in The Witcher 4

2024 was the year updates for old games beat out all the new ones for me

Train like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

‘It’s simply impossible to make a difficulty level that’s just right for all players’: How Final Fantasy 14’s lead battle designer has been playing a precarious balancing game for Dawntrail’s dungeons and raids

Please join me in getting super excited for all the cool looking survival games coming in 2025 (and beyond)

Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: ‘sweaty’ teamplay vs. casual fun

Call of Duty’s $28 Squid Game skins are the perfect crossover for our capitalist dystopia, and Activision knows exactly what it’s doing

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Make it make sense#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

Make it make sense

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals