Rockstar Games will offer Grand Theft Auto VI through Xbox Cloud Gaming when the game launches next week, but the streaming option is limited to Xbox Series X / S and Xbox One consoles. The restriction means owners of the older Xbox One hardware can stream the title rather than buying a PS5 or an Xbox Series S / X to play it. Rockstar said the Xbox Cloud Gaming stream will use the Xbox Series S graphics settings.
Xbox's announcement blog post mentions the cloud streaming only for Xbox Series X / S and Xbox One owners. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma described the Grand Theft Auto VI cloud arrangement as the first step in a new 10-year strategic partnership between Microsoft and Take-Two. Sharma also said the game is the most pre-ordered game ever on Microsoft Store. Microsoft plans to add Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption 2 and other titles to Xbox Cloud Gaming in the coming months.
The practical effect is that Microsoft holds what amounts to an exclusive on streaming Grand Theft Auto VI from the cloud at launch, though only to Xbox consoles. The Verge reported last month that Microsoft had secured exclusive cloud streaming rights for the game, after which Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball said on X that Microsoft would not stream Grand Theft Auto VI exclusively. While Microsoft's contract may not use the word exclusive, the outcome is exclusive cloud gaming on Xbox for now. Sony could announce its own cloud streaming plans for the game later, but Rockstar notes that Grand Theft Auto VI will fully support Remote Play on PlayStation and Xbox, which is not cloud streaming.
The Verge also initially reported that Grand Theft Auto VI would be streamable on PC, since Xbox Cloud Gaming generally makes games available on Xbox consoles, TVs, PCs and the web. Grand Theft Auto VI is a rare exception to that pattern. Microsoft may eventually be able to stream the PC version of the game once it launches.
Rockstar Games also confirmed that Grand Theft Auto VI will run at 30fps across PS5, PS5 Pro and Xbox Series S / X consoles. On the PS5 Pro, the main advantage cited is ray-traced shadows and support for PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, or PSSR.
More gadget news from TechManNews.
