GTA 6 Looks Stunning, but 63 New Screenshots May Not Reflect Actual Gameplay, Tech Experts Say

Rockstar released 63 new screenshots for GTA 6 yesterday, each impressing fans with incredible detail. They offer our best look at the game so far, ahead of Trailer 3. But how accurately do they represent the game fans will play in November?

Digital Foundry analyzed the screenshots to understand what they reveal about GTA 6. Their analysis highlights "an unprecedented level of polish" and ray-traced reflections, even spotting a car's engine through a reflective sheen under the hood. GTA 6 undeniably looks impressive.

However, Digital Foundry warns that it's "unlikely" the screenshots represent real-time results on any platform releasing this November. While the Xbox Series S is ruled out, DF questions whether they came from PS5, Xbox Series X, or PS5 Pro. There's evidence suggesting the visuals aren't feasible on current consoles.

"With such high fidelity, a question remains over which platform generated these shots," wrote Tom Morgan. "We find it unlikely these are real-time results on PS5, Xbox Series X, or even PS5 Pro. We'd love to be surprised, but pristine image quality (suggesting native 4K or higher) and inconsistent lighting on foreground characters cast doubt."

If not from consoles, where did the screenshots come from? Possibly a PC version (expected eventually). DF suggests they may be carefully constructed within GTA 6's development environment for the "perfect shot," ignoring frame rate. They might not be from actual gameplay, or possibly from an unannounced photo mode.

"Rockstar could easily generate these in the game's development environment, orchestrating perfect shots with settings maxed out, irrespective of frame rate," Morgan added. "Ray tracing is expected on consoles—we have it in GTA 5—but how close real-time console visuals get to these images remains to be seen."

GTA 6 looks amazing so far, and fans expect it to push consoles to their limits. Rockstar hasn't confirmed performance targets yet, so resolution and frame rate details are unknown. What is known is that GTA 6 features a massive open world, described by Rockstar as "the biggest and most immersive evolution of the series yet."

We have more GTA 6 coverage, including price confirmation, analyst opinions on pricing, Ultimate Edition exclusive content, and confirmation that GTA 6 is a "single-player experience."