GTA 6has hands down become one of the most anticipated titles of the decade and it leaves the eagle-eyed community to rely on leaks and rumors while Rockstar continues to be a pinchpenny watchdog. There has only been a teaser release so far and the official trailer is imminent at this point. Ahead of the trailer release, there’s a picture roaming around the internet which is a screenshot from a Rockstar developer’s LinkedIn account, which seems to give away thatGTA 6is already being worked on for a PC release.
Rockstar Games has played its cards close to the chest and no PC release has been confirmed yet. The LinkedIn profile belonging to a Principal Engine Programmer at Rockstar also doesn’t reveal anything clearly. It just hints that Rockstar might have used procedural generation to createGTA 6and that this particular programmer has worked on the in-house engine RAGE to develop and optimize the game for both consoles and PC.
Rockstar Has Always Taken a Staggered Approach for PC Releases
The delay in PC versions of Rockstar games has often been attributed to the studio’s focus on optimizing the game for consoles first, with the PC version coming later to capitalize on the increased demand. However, the apparent shift in strategy, which should be taken with a massive grain of salt at this point, could signal a new direction for the series. One that acknowledges the growing importance of the PC gaming market and the increasing parity betweenhigh-end gaming PCsand consoles.
With the rise of ray tracing technology, advanced graphics cards, and the increasing importance of high-resolution textures, PC players have come to expect a superior version of games when compared to their console counterparts. So it’s either thatGTA 6is being planned for a simultaneous release across PC and consoles, it’s being developed with a focus on showcasing its full visual glory on PC, or both.
The Studio Has Historically Prioritized Console-First Releases, and Not Just for GTA
Rockstar has consistently followed a console-first release strategy across many of its major titles, not just withGTA. Games likeRed Dead Redemption,Bully, andL.A. Noireall saw delayed PC releases, months and sometimes even years after their initial console launches. Before this,Grand Theft Auto 5was the only Rockstar game to launchsomewhat closer to its PC game release. For instance,GTA 5launched on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2013. The next-gen console versions (PS4 and Xbox One) were released in November 2014, and the PC version followed in April 2015.
While the PC version wasn’t simultaneous with the console releases, the game did launch on thenext-gen consoles(PS4/Xbox One) just a few months before the PC version, which was a rare move for Rockstar. So this somewhat changing trend, being given a nod from this newly-found LinkedIn gem, isn’t completely out of the blue.
The PC-Console Simultaneous Release Anticipation Might Be Nothing
At the same time, it’s important to temper excitement with caution. The mention of various technical systems within the engine core being utilized, including ray tracing, andprocedural generation inGTA 6does not mean that the game will rely on it entirely or that there’s a destined simultaneous release planned just because a dev is working on both PC and console optimization. Rockstar is known for its handcrafted world-building, with every street, building, and character being carefully designed to create a unique and consistent experience.
Assuming that this job description holds true forGTA 6, it’s just as easily possible that Rockstar is just trying to align its cards for the future. It’s not like Rockstar begins developing the game from scratch for PC only after it’s done and ready for consoles. As far as the combination of ray tracing and procedural generation is concerned, the goal could be just to set new standards for realism and complexity inGTA 6,and it might not have anything to do with an early PC release at all. At the same time, with all thoseGTA 6jokesout there on every other social media post, it won’t be so bad to finally get a meticulous PC-console simultaneous release from the get-go — only time will tell.
Grand Theft Auto 6
WHERE TO PLAY
Grand Theft Auto VI heads to the state of Leonida, home to the neon-soaked streets of Vice City and beyond in the biggest, most immersive evolution of the Grand Theft Auto series yet.Jason and Lucia have always known the deck is stacked against them. But when an easy score goes wrong, they find themselves on the darkest side of the sunniest place in America, in the middle of a criminal conspiracy stretching across the state of Leonida — forced to rely on each other more than ever if they want to make it out alive.
