GTA Online to Continue 'Beyond' GTA 6 Launch, PC 'Increasingly Vital'

Rockstar Games will keep supporting GTA Online even after Grand Theft Auto 6 arrives, according to parent company Take-Two. During a recent shareholders meeting (reported by ResetEra), Take-Two stated, "we will continue to support GTA Online after GTA 6 release and beyond." Since Rockstar has already confirmed that GTA 6 will be a single-player-only experience, there won't be a multiplayer mode when the game launches in November. That means if you're craving some online Grand Theft Auto action, you'll need to stick with the current version of GTA Online.

Eventually, there will likely be a new iteration of GTA Online, but it's becoming increasingly unclear how and when it will arrive. Will it be retroactively bundled with GTA 6? Will it be a standalone game that players have to purchase separately?

Twitch CEO Dan Clancy, however, is confident that GTA 6 multiplayer will launch in 2027. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Clancy mentioned he had spoken with Rockstar about their plans. "We spent a lot of time talking with Rockstar about their plans, and also helping them think about how they can engage our creators," Clancy said. "You are going to see this big bump with GTA 6, but then an even bigger one next year when they launch multiplayer."

Meanwhile, during the shareholders meeting, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick responded (via GamesRadar) to a question about whether the plan for PC had been affected by console shortages, particularly the PS5 Pro.

"The strategy of the company is, over time, generally speaking, to launch for any platforms for which there's a meaningful audience," Zelnick replied, keeping his cards close to his chest. "But that isn't always the case, and certainly, if platforms were no longer viable, we could change that strategy.

"And I would note that the PC platform is becoming more and more important to our company over time."

Zelnick has previously said that Rockstar has historically always released its games for consoles first, suggesting a PC version of GTA 6 may follow later. How much later? It's unclear, but GTA 5 remains a massively popular game on the platform.

Ex-Rockstar Games producer John Ricchio stated in an interview earlier this year that the studio's continued decision to skip PC at launch wasn't one rooted in greed. Instead, it was a result of Rockstar wanting to optimize for consoles first and then scaling up for a PC version.

"It's always better to start with the constraints and then extend," said Ricchio. "Because shrinking is a lot harder than extending. It's way harder to make your game performant than it is to just be like 'Oh, we've got extra room? Cool, we can deoptimize or make things more shiny.'"

Could a PC version come alongside the next version of GTA Online? It doesn't seem out of the question if there's going to be a sizable gap. Either way, it's clear that Rockstar is pouring a lot of effort and focus into making GTA 6 the best single-player experience it can be without compromising other parts of the game, even if that means a staggered release of the long-term online money maker.

In related news, Rockstar Games announced Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album this morning. The soundtrack releases alongside the game on November 19 and features over 30 original songs from major mainstream artists. Six original songs from artists like Travis Scott, PinkPantheress, and Morgan Wallen are available to stream on Spotify right now.