Sony has reportedly secured the rights to Grand Theft Auto 6.
As reported by Tech4Gamers, both Middle Aged Gamer Guy AKA MAGG and RedGamingTech, both gaming YouTubers, have revealed they received word that Sony got the rights to exclusively market Grand Theft Auto 6 for the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro.
While the previous game in the franchise released all the way back in 2013, the earliest instance that we can confirm that Grand Theft Auto 6 was in development is a relatively recent 2020. The dam burst in 2022 when nearly an hour of in-game footage leaked online. Since then, speculation had gone rampant on the title’s progress, but Rockstar has most recently slotted its release for the second half of 2025.
For some time, analysts hoped that Grand Theft Auto 6 would be releasing in around the same time as the rumored but still unannounced PlayStation 5 Pro. In fact, analysts were giving investor advice that the industry would be set for an uptick, as they expected gamers to buy the new console to get the new title. Rockstar’s latest announcement has severed that narrative, and it certainly seems that they chose to do so to prioritize their game.
Still, Rockstar Games has a rich history with the PlayStation brand, as Grand Theft Auto was around since the first PlayStation. On the PlayStation 2, Rockstar overtook Square Enix and other developers to be the biggest third party developer for their platform. Grand Theft Auto III, released exclusively on the console in 2001, was a landmark title in open world games, and the biggest selling title for that year.
Since then, Grand Theft Auto has been inseparable from the blue brand, but this does not mean that Rockstar did not spread their wings. The studio would eventually bring their games to Xbox, and even some onto Nintendo platforms, aside from having always made their games available on Windows.
This time, Grand Theft Auto 6 will be launching on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Presumably, Rockstar made a deal with both companies to bring the game to consoles before PC, which has neither been confirmed or dated.
While this news might be disappointing to Xbox fans, there is literally no surprise here, and really, no reason to really fret about it. It only stands to reason that Rockstar would partner with Sony since the PlayStation 5 is the lead platform for the current generation. That remains true in spite of the limits of the PlayStation 5’s actual reach among PlayStation users, and the total gaming market at large.
Microsoft will still have Call of Duty and Fallout franchises to sell their console, and make money outside it. Xbox gamers will still get to play Grand Theft Auto 6at the same time as PlayStation gamers, and they will do so before PC gamers.
If there is any worry here, it would be between Sony and Rockstar, if this partnership will even be worth it. Some analysts may want to hype the potency of PlayStation and Grand Theft Auto. But the industry is in unprecedented times, where the studio most responsible for the PlayStation 5’s most successful first party games has to lay off staff.
We can assure you that even their peers, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Valve, would want to see Grand Theft Auto 6 be a huge success on the PlayStation 5. They all want a success so big that it enlarges the pie for everyone. But is Grand Theft Auto 6 and a PlayStation 5 Pro enough to get PlayStation 4 owners to finally make the upgrade? The industry wants to believe so. The consequences if they’re wrong are not going to be pleasant.
