Can You Play GTA 6 on Xbox One? Microsoft Just Answered
Independent fan coverage and commentary — this site is not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.
Independent fan coverage and commentary. This site is not affiliated with Rockstar Games, Microsoft or Take-Two Interactive. We name our sources and flag what we could not confirm. Part of Weazel Report.
If an Xbox One still sits under your TV, you have probably wondered whether GTA 6 is a lost cause for you. As of November 10, it is not. Microsoft says the game will be playable on day one by streaming, an answer that comes with fine print. Here is what is official, what is reported and what is ours.
Official, per Xbox Wire on November 10: GTA 6 is playable on day one through Xbox Cloud Gaming on Xbox One, while Xbox Series X and Series S play it natively and can pre-install now. Reported by Gfinity, citing Rockstar’s announcement: the console list is PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. We checked these facts through November 11. Our guesses are labeled.
Xbox One Gets the Cloud, Not a Native Version
Official, per Xbox Wire: Xbox One owners stream GTA 6 through Xbox Cloud Gaming, and the cloud version uses Xbox Series S graphics settings. The game must be bought separately, and Xbox Wire does not say it requires Game Pass. It gives no frame rate and no bandwidth requirement, and it names no markets beyond “supported markets”.
Official: from November 11, players in supported markets can buy cloud playtime without a Game Pass subscription, though Xbox Wire gives no price and does not say GTA 6 counts toward it. Reported by Kotaku, not in Xbox Wire: 10 hours of cloud play costs $4. Our advice: check your connection and your hours before you count on this route.
Everything Else Is Still PS5 and Series X|S
Reported, from store listings and not Xbox Wire: GTA 6 costs $79.99 for the Standard Edition and $99.99 for the Ultimate Edition. Official, per Xbox Wire: Microsoft Store pre-orders placed before 23:59:59 on November 19 include the Vintage Vice City Pack and one month of GTA+. Not announced: a native version for Xbox One, PS4 or Switch 2. Xbox Wire does not mention PS4 or PC.
Reported by Kotaku, from Microsoft’s agreement with Rockstar: streaming to mobile and PC is excluded, and Xbox Wire says nothing on either. Not announced: a PC version, as we cover in our PC piece. Not found: we located no source offering a day-one way in for a PS4 or a Switch 2, which is not confirmation that none exists.
Xbox One: stream it. Series X|S: native. Cloud look: Series S settings. Start: 1 a.m. ET on November 19.
Read next: Will My Series S Be Able to Handle GTA 6?, GTA 6 Pre-Load Is Live. Why Can’t You Play It Yet? and GTA 6 Price: Standard or Ultimate? What the Extra $20 Buys | Latest GTA 6 news
The Xbox Hour Is 1 a.m. ET
Official, per Xbox Wire: streaming and launch begin at 1 a.m. ET on November 19. It is the first official hour we have found for Xbox streaming and launch. Our math: that is 6 a.m. GMT, 3 a.m. in Brasília, midnight in Mexico City and 10 p.m. PT on November 18. Reported earlier, and unconfirmed, by the fan site GTASix, from store data: local midnight.
Not announced: the PlayStation hour, which we cover in our release date piece. Our inference: one ET hour suggests one moment for Xbox, though Xbox Wire does not say so for every region. Series X and Series S owners can pre-install now, as in our pre-load piece. Our inference: Xbox One streamers have nothing to pre-load.
A 2013 Console Still Gets a Seat
Our reading: this answer matters less for the spec sheet than for the people behind it. An Xbox One is a console that launched in November 2013, and plenty of homes still run one. For them, streaming means GTA 6 stops being something that happens on other people’s consoles. It is due on the hour Xbox Wire gives, with Series S graphics settings.
The fine print remains: a stable connection, a purchased copy and cloud time that someone has to pay for. Not confirmed: how well it streams, because nobody has played it yet. Our inference: some will stream, some will upgrade and some will wait for the first reviews. All three are the same fan, eight days early.
Are you streaming GTA 6 on an Xbox One, upgrading to a Series console, or waiting to see how it runs?
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