Just like almost every other game on the market, Rockstar Games expects Grand Theft Auto 6 to sell the most copies on PlayStation, especially at launch.
Few announcements, if any at all, generate as much excitement and speculation as a new Grand Theft Auto game. After much anticipation (and leaks), Grand Theft Auto 6 has finally been revealed to the rest of the world, setting new records and basically overshadowing every other video game reveal for quite some time. More than a week after it nearly broke the Internet, people are still talking about GTA 6, in particular, regarding its delayed PC release, which your PC may or may not be able to run anyway, depending on how much money there is. What I spent on it today.
The initial revelation that Grand Theft Auto 6 would initially be released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X in 2025, with a later date for a PC release, sparked significant debate. To shed light on this decision, Mike York, an animator who previously worked at Rockstar Games, provided insight into why PlayStation, and in general, consoles, remained a priority for GTA 6’s initial release.
York, who helped create Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 during his time at Rockstar, emphasized PlayStation’s historical sales dominance as a key factor. According to Yorke, PlayStation has traditionally been the largest seller of Rockstar’s flagship titles, which influenced the company’s strategy to focus on optimizing the game for the most popular platforms first. This approach is in line with Rockstar’s business strategy to maximize returns on the investment they’ve made, ensuring that the most resources are allocated to the platforms with the highest sales potential.
While skeptics may criticize Rockstar for going where the money is, it’s a smart business move that every other video game developer knows, including smaller studios. Larian Studios, makers of Baldur’s Gate 3, which won Game of the Year, went through a long and arduous process to release the game through Early Access on PC via Steam because they knew this was the best chance to see the game through to completion. . Although it later blew up upon release, the studio prioritized what was in its best interest. In fact, Larian didn’t expect to see Baldur’s Gate 3 succeed on PlayStation 5. It’s now available on all platforms, including Xbox Series S/X.
More importantly, the crucial aspect that York highlighted (and that many ignored) was the technical challenges of developing the PC version. Unlike consoles, where the hardware configuration is standardized, PCs offer a wide and wide range of unique configurations, each with its own set of central processing units (CPU), graphics processing units (GPU) and memory usage patterns. This variability requires extensive testing to ensure compatibility across different hardware setups, a time-consuming and resource-intensive process. Yorke used the problematic PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight as an example of what can happen when a complex game is not adequately tested across different PC configurations.
To be honest, York didn’t even need to use Arkham Knight, which is receiving backlash for its problematic Switch port, as an example. Recently, games like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor have performed poorly on PC. Even last year’s GOTY winner, and one of the most GOTY games of all time, Elden Ring, was not spared from such issues.
Under this perspective, it makes sense for Rockstar and other developers, like Square Enix, to delay the PC port of their best-selling titles.
York’s comment also touches on the development process itself, noting that although a PC version of a game like GTA 5 may exist in the background while the console versions are being developed, it’s not fully polished. The focus is on ensuring the console versions are optimized and running at full potential before turning attention to the PC port. This process often involves not only optimizing the existing game for PC, but also optimizing it to take advantage of the capabilities of the more powerful hardware typical of PCs.
In his video, York asks the gaming community to be patient and give Rockstar “the benefit of the doubt.” It emphasizes the complexity of game development, especially for an expansive game like GTA 6, and the need for extensive testing to deliver a high-quality product. York’s call for understanding reflects the challenges game developers face in balancing the demands of diverse gaming audiences with the technical and resource constraints inherent in game development.
The delay in GTA 6’s release on PC, while frustrating for some players, is a strategic decision by Rockstar to focus on the platforms that historically generate the most sales. It also reflects the company’s commitment to quality, ensuring that when the game arrives on PC, it meets the high expectations of its audience.
For now, eager fans can stream our screenshots from the record-breaking GTA 6 trailer, which comes with several cool details that are easy to miss at first glance.
As the gaming world eagerly anticipates the release of Grand Theft Auto 6, a former Rockstar developer has given an insight into the development priorities for the highly anticipated game. In an interview, the developer revealed that the PlayStation platform is a “priority” for the development of the game, indicating a strong focus on creating an exceptional gaming experience for PlayStation users. This revelation has sparked excitement and speculation among fans as they eagerly await more details about the upcoming installment in the iconic Grand Theft Auto series.