Why Rockstar Could Be Holding Back GTA 6’s PC Release
Back in 2020, Evan Lahti, strategic director at PC Gamer, proclaimed that the PC had essentially triumphed in the console wars. Today, that statement rings truer than ever. The PC platform’s longstanding strengths, customization, modding, and extensive backward compatibility, continue to shine. But in recent years, it has also become a hub for titles that were once exclusive to consoles.
Microsoft effectively acknowledged this shift before the current console generation even started. While Nintendo clings to its stance against PC gaming, it remains legal to emulate their titles on PC. Sony, meanwhile, has adopted a model involving timed exclusivity for its blockbuster games, maintaining a six-month to one-year window before they make their way to PC. While this strategy isn’t ideal for players, it’s a calculated move tied to Sony’s commitment to its hardware ecosystem.
Then there’s Rockstar Games, an outlier in this landscape. Unlike Sony or Nintendo, Rockstar’s delays in bringing games to PC don’t seem to follow any clear business logic.
Consider the gaps between console and PC releases for Rockstar’s major titles:
- Grand Theft Auto 3: 7 months
- Vice City: 7 months
- San Andreas: 8 months
- Bully: 2 years
- GTA 4: 7 months
- Red Dead Redemption: 14 years, 5 months
- GTA 5: 1 year, 6 months
- Red Dead Redemption 2: 1 year
This pattern isn’t entirely unique to Rockstar. Square Enix, another major third-party publisher, previously took a similar approach, tying games like Final Fantasy 16 and the FF7 Remakes to timed exclusivity deals with Sony. However, this strategy often seemed to come at the cost of potential PC sales. Square Enix now appears to be reevaluating its stance.
Rockstar, on the other hand, remains a mystery. Red Dead Redemption 2 didn’t make its PC debut until a year after its console release, while Grand Theft Auto 5 launched on two generations of consoles before finally arriving on PC. The most frustrating example is the original Red Dead Redemption, which took over 14 years to appear on PC and only at a hefty $50 price tag. Adding insult to injury, the underpowered Nintendo Switch got the game before PC players did.
This clearly isn’t a technical challenge. Porting games can be complex, but Rockstar, with its vast resources, should have no problem releasing PC versions alongside their console counterparts. As PC Gamer hardware writer Nick Evanson argued last December, there’s no legitimate technical reason why the PC version of GTA 6 shouldn’t launch simultaneously with the console version.
Other developers, like Capcom, have had justifiable delays. When Monster Hunter: World arrived on PC seven months after its console release, the wait made sense, it was Capcom’s first major PC outing for the franchise, requiring performance tweaks and interface adjustments. But Capcom has since refined its PC strategy, and its next Monster Hunter title is set to launch on all platforms simultaneously.
So why does Rockstar continue to drag its feet when it comes to PC releases?
