Take-Two CEO Confident: GTA 6 to Boost Console Sales in 2025 Despite PS5, Xbox Decline

Grand Theft Auto 6 is set to launch in the fall of 2025, exclusively on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, leaving PC gamers feeling left out. This decision aligns with Rockstar's traditional approach but, in today's gaming landscape, feels somewhat outdated. With the PC platform becoming increasingly crucial for the success of multiplatform games, the absence of GTA 6 on PC at launch raises questions about missed opportunities or potential mistakes.

IGN posed this question to Take-Two's CEO, Strauss Zelnick, before the company's latest financial results. Zelnick hinted at an eventual PC release for GTA 6, saying, "So with Civ 7, it's available on console and PC and Switch right away. With regard to others in our lineup, we don't always go across all platforms simultaneously. Historically, Rockstar has started with some platforms and then historically moved to other platforms."

Rockstar's fans are familiar with the studio's tendency to delay PC releases, as well as its complex relationship with the modding community. Despite hopes that GTA 6 might break this trend, it seems likely that PC gamers will have to wait until at least 2026 to experience the game, given its planned fall 2025 console release.

In December 2023, a former Rockstar developer tried to shed light on why GTA 6 is not launching on PC alongside its console counterparts. They urged PC gamers to be patient and give the studio the "benefit of the doubt" regarding its launch strategy.

Zelnick emphasized the importance of the PC market, noting that it can account for up to 40% of a multiplatform game's sales, and sometimes even more. This statement came amid discussions about the current console generation, where sales of the PS5 and Xbox Series X and S have dropped. While Nintendo prepares to release the Switch 2, neither Sony nor Microsoft have announced their next-generation consoles yet. Zelnick acknowledged the growing significance of the PC platform as console sales decline, anticipating the eventual arrival of new console generations.

Zelnick believes that the launch of GTA 6, potentially the biggest entertainment release ever, will boost console sales as fans upgrade to the current generation to play the game. He stated, "When you have a big title in the market and we have many of them coming, historically that has sold consoles. And I think that will happen this year... I think there will be a meaningful uptick in console sales in calendar 25 because of the release schedule, not just coming from us, but coming from others."

Many view the PlayStation 5 Pro as the ideal platform for playing GTA 6, hoping it will offer the best gaming experience. However, tech experts caution that the PS5 Pro might not be capable of running GTA 6 at 4K60.