Grand Theft Auto VI launches Nov. 19 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X at the same price on both platforms: $79.99 for the Standard edition, $99.99 for the Ultimate edition with extra vehicles and missions. The hardware you buy it for is where things get expensive, and uneven.
A 1TB PlayStation 5 with a disc drive currently costs $649.99. The equivalent Xbox Series X runs $799.99, a $150 gap for roughly comparable horsepower. Go all-digital and the PS5 drops to $599.99 against $749.99 for the disc-less Xbox. Since GTA 6 is shipping digital-only at launch, according to PCMag, the cheaper digital consoles are the more relevant comparison for most buyers.
Rockstar Games has said its Netflix extended look, the gameplay reveal that's driven much of this year's hype, was captured on PS5 hardware, and the game has been marketed primarily around Sony's console. But the Xbox Series X version ships the same day, at the same price, and PCMag reports both base consoles should deliver roughly equivalent performance, with GTA 6 expected to run at 30 frames per second on standard hardware. Rockstar hasn't detailed frame rates itself.
Beyond the base consoles
For players chasing a sharper version of Vice City, the PlayStation 5 Pro costs $899.99 and packs more graphical horsepower than the base PS5, meaning higher resolutions and better frame rates in supported titles. Rockstar hasn't said what the Pro does specifically for GTA 6, but PCMag's assessment is that it's likely to be the best-looking version of the game at launch.
On the budget end, Microsoft's $499.99 Xbox Series S trades resolution and effects for a lower price. It's weaker silicon than the Series X, but Rockstar built Red Dead Redemption 2 for last-generation consoles and still delivered an open world worth getting lost in, so a Series S copy of GTA 6 shouldn't be unplayable, just less sharp.
Two platforms are conspicuously absent at launch: PC and Nintendo Switch 2. Every recent Rockstar release, including Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA V, hit consoles first and PC roughly a year later, and there's no reason to expect GTA 6 to break that pattern. Given that Rockstar already built a version light enough to run on Xbox Series S, a Switch 2 port is plausible on paper, especially with Nintendo's hybrid console pulling in ports of Call of Duty and Madden. But nothing has been announced for either platform.
For now, the real decision is Sony versus Microsoft, and on pure value, the PlayStation 5, in any of its three current forms, undercuts the equivalent Xbox at every price tier. Whether that gap holds through the holidays is another question. Console makers have been raising prices rather than cutting them amid tariffs and RAM shortages, and a GTA 6 launch is exactly the kind of moment that tempts a price hike.
GDFiled by The Games Desk
Consoles, handhelds, PC gaming and the platforms and hardware behind them.
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