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GTA VI Xbox Cloud Streaming Report Gets Pushback
A report suggesting Xbox had secured exclusive cloud-streaming rights for Rockstar Games’ GTA VI has already been disputed by one of Microsoft’s most senior gaming executives.
The original report from The Verge claimed that Xbox had struck a deal making Xbox Cloud Gaming the only service able to stream Grand Theft Auto VI at launch. With Rockstar still yet to announce a native PC version, that would potentially have given PC players another route into the game without owning a console. That apparently is not what is happening.
Xbox Says Grand Theft Auto VI Will Not Stream Exclusively
Xbox Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball responded to the report through a post on X, saying the excitement surrounding Grand Theft Auto VI and Xbox had resulted in some “misreporting”.
Ball then offered a much more definitive clarification, stating that the game “will not be streaming exclusively or to PC.” His comments directly contradict the central claim in The Verge’s report, which cited sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans and said Xbox had obtained exclusive game-streaming rights.
The report also referenced Xbox CEO Asha Sharma telling employees that Microsoft was preparing something around GTA VI that “no other platform holder is doing”. What Sharma was referring to remains unclear.
GTA VI PC Version Still Unannounced
For PC players, Ball’s clarification also closes off the possibility, at least for now, that Xbox Cloud Gaming could provide a workaround before an eventual native PC release. GTA VI is currently scheduled to launch on November 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with Rockstar yet to announce a PC version.
That makes any potential alternative route to the game particularly interesting, especially as Microsoft prepares major changes to Xbox Cloud Gaming in November. Game Pass Ultimate will include 15 hours of cloud playtime each month, Premium 10 hours and Essential five, while Microsoft is also introducing additional paid cloud hours. Those limits are already reflected on Xbox’s official service pages.
For now, however, those changes should not be connected directly to Grand Theft Auto VI. Ball’s response makes clear that the reported exclusive streaming arrangement, and the prospect of using it to play the console release on PC, is not part of the plan as described.
Players waiting for a PC version will therefore still have to wait for Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive to make that announcement themselves.
