Not just PS5, Microsoft says GTA 6 will be playable on this 13 year old Xbox

GTA 6 will be playable on the 13-year-old Xbox One through cloud gaming. Meanwhile, a former Rockstar developer believes AI could push the studio to release the PC version sooner.

In Short

• GTA 6 will come to Xbox One through cloud streaming on November 19
• Xbox One players will get Xbox Series S-level graphics
• AI-powered unofficial PC ports could affect Rockstar's release plans

You won't necessarily need to buy a new Xbox to play Grand Theft Auto 6. Microsoft has found a way to bring Rockstar's upcoming blockbuster to an older generation of its gaming consoles, including the Xbox One, which was launched back in 2013. The catch is that players won't be able to install GTA 6 directly on the older console. Instead, they will have to stream the game using Xbox Cloud Gaming. Microsoft says the service will support GTA 6 from November 19, the day the game arrives.

This also means Xbox One owners can avoid spending money on a newer console just to try the much-awaited title. However, cloud streaming will come with a graphics compromise. Microsoft says the streamed game will run with Xbox Series S graphics settings, rather than offering the full experience available on the more powerful Xbox Series X.

Players with the Xbox Series X and Series S will be able to install the game and run it directly on their consoles. Microsoft has already opened pre-installation for both models. Interestingly, players in supported markets will not necessarily need a Game Pass subscription to access cloud gaming. Microsoft is introducing an option to purchase cloud playtime separately from November 11. GTA 6 streaming will begin at 1am ET on November 19.

The company is also preparing to expand its Rockstar Games catalogue on the service. Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2 are among the titles expected to join Xbox Cloud Gaming in the coming months. Microsoft has described GTA 6 as the most pre-ordered game ever on its digital store. Bringing it to Xbox One through streaming could help the company reach players who have held on to their older consoles rather than moving to the current generation.

Could AI make Rockstar release GTA 6 on PC earlier?

The console launch may also create a new problem for Rockstar. The studio has yet to announce when GTA 6 will arrive on PC, but generative AI could make the usual wait between console and PC releases more complicated.

Obbe Vermeij, a former technical director at Rockstar North, believes unofficial AI-assisted PC versions could become a concern for the developer. Speaking to Rock Paper Shotgun, he said people could potentially use AI tools to turn the PS5 version into a PC port once the game becomes available. He asserted that such versions may not deliver the same quality as an official release, but they could still attract players who do not want to wait for the PC edition. That could mean lost sales for Rockstar and its parent company Take-Two.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there was an effort to get [the releases] a little bit closer together," Vermeij said, while making it clear that he did not know what the company was planning.

Rockstar has generally followed a console-first strategy with its major releases. GTA 5, for instance, arrived on consoles before making its way to PC. Vermeij believes this approach has partly continued because studios find it easier to work on one version at a time. But AI tools could complicate that strategy. Vermeij believes current technology may be capable of producing an unofficial PC conversion of GTA 6, even if the process takes hours of computing time and costs thousands of dollars.

He also warned that preventing such copies could become difficult, even for major publishers with the resources to take legal action. Whether this concern will actually change Rockstar's PC release plans remains to be seen.

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