Speaking with Bloomberg during the Interactive Innovation Conference in Las Vegas recently, Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two, has touched on the lack of a PC version of Grand Theft Auto VI on November 19, stating that developer Rockstar Games has always looked to serve the “core consumer” on consoles prior to shifting to PC.
The executive noted that franchises such as NBA 2K only moved around 5% of overall copies sold on PC back when he started in 2007, but these days, “with regard to a big title, PC can be 45%, 50% of the sales.” With this in mind, he was asked why GTA VI isn’t coming to PC alongside the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions, to which he responded:
Rockstar always starts on console because I think with regard to a release like that you’re judged by serving the core. Like, really serving the core consumer. If your core consumer isn’t there, if they’re not served first and best, you kind of don’t hit your other consumers.
Zelnick also stressed that GTA VI didn’t have any marketing deals with Sony to secure a console exclusivity period, noting, “No. I mean, historically Rockstar’s gone to console first.”
Looking back at Rockstar’s major releases on PC, the original Red Dead Redemption took a staggering 14 years to receive its own dedicated PC release. Others have come to the platform within several months of the console release; for example, GTA IV arrived on the PC eight months after PS3 and Xbox 360, while L.A. Noire graced the platform half a year after the console launch. Then again, titles like GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 took over a year to come to the PC following the PlayStation and Xbox releases.
GTA VI is currently scheduled for release on November 19, 2026 for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, with a PC version yet to be confirmed. The price of Rockstar’s upcoming crime opus has long been debated, and while it remains to be seen how much GTA VI will cost, an analyst for the Bank of America suggested it should retail for $80 for the good of the industry.