Datamining Suggests Rockstar Will Offer Switch Games As GTA + Bonuses

We have an interesting new rumor on what Rockstar Games could be doing next – and this isn’t about Grand Theft Auto 6.

Tez2 is a dataminer who has worked exclusively on looking at data for Rockstar. Here’s our last report on what he’s found out about the first Red Dead Redemption coming to PC. Earlier today, he shared this information on Twitter:

“Rockstar Games has updated the platform list for “Games Included with GTA+” to include Nintendo Switch, but it is not currently used on the site. Rockstar may soon update these games on the Switch to be playable for free with a GTA+ subscription.”

For those wondering, we checked on the Switch eShop online, and confirmed that Rockstar Games has published Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy Definitive Edition, Red Dead Redemption, and L.A. Noire for the Nintendo Switch.

But we are sure we are not the only ones who believe that this can’t possibly be about just making those games entitlements or bonuses for Nintendo Switch owners. The Nintendo Switch has been on the market for seven years. Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online have been around for 11 years, and Rockstar is set to release Grand Theft Auto 6 shortly.

So, it seems credible that Rockstar is planning this for the next Nintendo console to come after the Switch. While we won’t be so bold to predict if either Grand Theft Auto V or Grand Theft Auto 6  is coming, we think it’s reasonable that Rockstar will want to increase their Nintendo presence on the next console.

Rockstar, like EA and Activision, missed out on Nintendo’s boom period, and they know it was a mistake. These third party studios don’t get the same deals from Nintendo that they get from Sony and Microsoft for their games. After the Wii U, these developers believed that Nintendo would not be able to be successful with the Switch. At the very least, they were scared by the uncertainty.

While they certainly continued to be profitable on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, they definitely saw how the Switch became a hit out the gate, on the strength of the hybrid console idea and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. They also saw in subsequent years how Ubisoft didn’t miss out on that train, and more interestingly, how the Switch eShop had a Steam like indie gold rush.

Finally, they must have definitely been envious of the long tail of Nintendo’s first party games, and of how the Switch ended up outnumbering the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S because Sony and Microsoft fans themselves got a Switch as a second console.

If this data Tez2 mined really means anything, we may find out around the time Nintendo finally unveils their new console. So that’s the next nine months for a big surprise.