GTA 6 Streams To 2013 Xbox One At Launch, Leaving PC Gamers Behind

No, Rockstar Games is not launching a version of Grand Theft Auto VI for Xbox One system that is now over a decade old (see our review for a trip back in time), but even owners of the ancient console will have a chance to play the most anticipated video game of all time before PC gamers. How so? Microsoft confirmed the title will be playable at launch through Xbox Cloud Gaming on Xbox One, and of course on Xbox Series X|S hardware. Your GeForce RTX 5090 rig? It will have to wait.

"We’re excited to bring Grand Theft Auto VI to more Xbox players at launch, and we will also be adding more titles from Rockstar Games to Xbox Cloud Gaming including Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption 2, and more in the coming months," Microsoft states in a blog post.

The rub for PC players is that Xbox Cloud Gaming is not exclusive to dedicated consoles, but even so, playing on PC will have to wait for a proper port. If that's you, at least you can take solace in rumors that GTA VI will land on PC within the first three months of 2027 rather than having to wait an extended period of time.

That's not official, though it's notable that Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick highlighted the PC during an earnings call several weeks ago, saying the "PC platform is becoming more and more important to our company over time."

If that's the case, why not let Microsoft support the PC for its cloud gaming push? Only Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games know for sure, but given how massive the GTA VI launch is shaping up to be, it's understandable from a business perspective why the publisher and developer would opt to wait.

In the same blog post, Microsoft reveals that GTA VI is the most preordered title of all time on the Microsoft Store. Likewise, Sony announced that GTA VI is the preordered game in the history of the PlayStation Store, so it's easy to see why Rockstar and Take-Two would opt not to cannibalize sales.

"Starting November 11, players in supported markets can buy cloud playtime to stream supported games without a Game Pass subscription. Streaming for Grand Theft Auto VI begins at 1am ET on November 19," Microsoft says.

As for what kind of experience to expect, Microsoft says GTA VI will use Xbox Series S graphics settings when streaming via Xbox Cloud Gaming.