In a move bound to frustrate Grand Theft Auto fans, rather than providing new information on the series’ next entry, Rockstar has instead announced that the next gen update for their cash-cow GTA Online will finally be making its way to the PC platform.
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News of GTA Online‘s forthcoming PC release was first revealed by Rockstar Games in a blog post concerning the online game’s next update.
Therein, following details about the new content set to be added to all versions of Los Santos when the update finally lands, the developer then turned that they were currently working on “plans to bring the much-requested PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S features of GTA Online to the PC platform in the new year.”
Originally launched for consoles in March 2022, said ‘next gen features’ include new vehicles, the option to run the game at 4K/60FPS, reduced loading times, 3D audio capabilities, and perhaps most notably, the ability for players to import their last-gen character profiles.
And though Rockstar did not specify just which of these features would be coming to PC, it’s currently assumed that all of the above will be making the leap between platforms.
While these upgrades will surely be well-received by PC players, it’s hard to ignore the feeling that Rockstar’s decision to finally port the previously console exclusive update is a case of ‘too little, too late’.
After all, at current, Grand Theft Auto VI is set to launch sometime next year, and when it does, it’ll likely bring with it an entirely new GTAO ecosystem of its own, itself built on the substantially-improved engine the core game will be running on.
To this end, one wonders why Rockstar wouldn’t instead just wait until then to bring all versions of GTAO in line, and even worse, whether the resources spent bringing porting the next gen update would have been better utilized both making sure GTA6 is as fine-tuned as possible when it eventually hits shelves and, given the two years it took for the update to receive a PC release, that it is set for a simultaneous day one release to all platforms.
After all, not only did it take three years for the PC version of GTAO to catch up to its console counterparts, but the respective console and PC releases of Grand Theft Auto V were also separated by a gap of two years.
If the trend continues, which given the current lack of a proper GTA6 PC announcement seems like it will, it’s possible that keyboard-and-mouse players won’t get their hands on the game until sometime in 2027.
Suffice to say, asking PC players to wait any amount of time longer to play GTA6 than console players will result in a PR nightmare for Rockstar.
Presently, neither GTA6 nor GTAO’s next gen PC upgrade have received specific release dates, with both simply being listed for sometime in 2025.