The first trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 blew us away, but it raised more questions than answers. Yes, we now know that it’s launching in 2025, but when in the year will it debut? How much DNA will it share with GTA 5? What will GTA Online look like after GTA 6 arrives? And most important of all, when will GTA 6 come to PC or Nintendo Switch 2, if ever?
Aside from the trailer, Rockstar Games did not share many details about GTA 6. The only other information we got came from the official website, which confirmed that the game will launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2025. Some fans were surprised that a PC version didn’t make the cut, especially considering how popular the PC port of GTA 5 has been. In all likelihood, GTA 6 will eventually make its way to PC, but what about Switch 2?
In a recent episode of the Digital Foundry Direct podcast, the hosts weighed in on the chances of Grand Theft Auto 6 launching on Nintendo’s next console. There is still plenty we don’t know about the Switch 2, but even if the rumors about its chipset are accurate, that still might not be enough to run such an intensive game on the console.
“I’d love to say it would happen — don’t think it will, realistically,” said DF’s Richard Leadbetter. “It’s a mobile chipset. I mean, we’ve seen a lot of amazing things on the Switch 1. Switch 2 is going to be a lot better — a proper generational leap and forward-looking in many ways — but the stuff that they seem to be rolling out for GTA 6 is possibly beyond that.”
As a reminder, Digital Foundry shared an extensive report last month about the Nvidia T239 chip that will purportedly power the Switch 2. As big of a leap forward as the chip will be for Nintendo, it’s unlikely to challenge the power of the PS5 or Xbox Series X.
“I think part of the problem here is you’ve got a lighting model that may not have a good non-RT [ray tracing] fallback, and the [next] Switch is not going to be powerful enough to run all that ray tracing,” added Oliver Mackenzie. “I just cannot see it. And in a world like this — you’ve got a big world with very complex CPU demands — and you look at any of the scenes in this trailer with all of those NPCs around the environment […] the level of simulation is quite something else, and I don’t think the Switch is going to be capable of that.”
Mackenzie went on to note that while Rockstar Games has brought a few older titles to Switch, such as L.A. Noire and Red Dead Redemption, it never ported GTA 5. The game undoubtedly would have made a killing on the Switch, so there were either insurmountable technical issues, or it simply wasn’t worth prioritizing. Why would GTA 6 be any different?
You can watch the full video below (via Nintendo Life) for an intriguing GTA 6 Q&A: