Take Two CEO says “40 percent” of multiplatform sales can come from PC. So why is GTA 6 not launching there?

Weighing in on Rockstar Games’ decision not to release Grand Theft Auto 6 on PC later this year, Take Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said PC for any given title could make up “40 percent” of sales, which only makes us wonder why GTA 6 isn’t on PC at launch.

“We have seen PC become a much more and more important part of what used to be a console business,” Strauss said in a conversation with IGN. “And I wouldn’t be surprised to see that trend continue.” Yet, Rockstar doesn’t budge from their decidedly old-school tactics of delaying the PC launch for GTA and sticking to their guns with the console exclusive launches over the year. 

The explanation behind this delay in release for the PC launch is the limitation of spending resources to test the game on different systems. While testing on consoles is relatively cheaper and you can get to the finished product quickly, for PC, it’s harder to land a smooth launch for many publishers, as the medium is used by multiple types of audiences. Once the end product is ready to release on consoles, Rockstar usually takes a year or more to port it to PC as it strives to reach that level of desired perfection and not pull another Cyberpunk 2077 out of the hat. 

While the PC ports by Rockstar don’t always land perfectly, which was the case with the GTA 4 PC release, the GTA 5 launch on PC in April 2015, about a year and a half after the initial release on consoles, did fairly well compared to its predecessor. As estimated by analysts at DFC Intelligence, GTA 6 will be making $3.2 billion in revenue within its first year of release. With massive existing sales figures, I often wonder if Rockstar and Take Two could just simply invest their resources into developing the game for PC alongside console and solve this technical difficulty. 

The simultaneous GTA 6 release on PC, as well as consoles, could generate a massive initial sales surge for the company, including the “40 percent” of multiplatform sales, and help recoup its massive production cost. Alongside that, it would also cater to a wider audience right away and allow every player to play the game, which is shaping up to be one of the biggest releases ever in the history of entertainment media, if not the biggest. Alas, it’s not that simple, and Rockstar seems quite sure it isn’t losing money by delaying its PC launch for the title. 

Diving into the GTA 5 sales statistics published by PlayTracker, you can understand the key terms of double-dipping players into purchasing the game. The practice forces PC players that don’t want to be left out on launch day to buy the title twice—once on console for launch, and then again when the game finally lands on their preferred platform. 

According to the PlayTracker report, Rockstar sold GTA 5 to 40 percent of these players and made a total revenue of $1.4 billion just from people who already owned the title. Some players even bought the game more than twice on multiple platforms to cherish the title. The split between the platforms is almost evenly spread, which shows there is no dominant platform, and people are purchasing the title again when they’re upgrading their console as it’s a timeless classic. So why are these people purchasing this title again and again why do they do this? FOMO. 

GTA 6 is the most anticipated title of the year, and probably nothing is going to top the excitement in quite a while. When it finally releases on consoles for players to experience after years of waiting, social media and every popular place on Reddit will be full of spoilers, and many will finally give in to the hype. 

While I’m equally heartbroken as everyone on PC at the thought that I won’t be able to play the title at launch, I’d invest in a PlayStation 5 or an Xbox to play it. Just like me, a majority of PC players will also be making the desperate switch, just to play the title on launch, which works in Rockstar’s favor. Most PC gamers will wind up purchasing the game again for PC to play the game with enhanced FPS, and potentially double dipping to increase the developer’s profits to another level. 

Moreover, launching the game on consoles almost guarantees that Rockstar doesn’t have to think about PC modders until its PC port, which is one thing less to worry about on the initial launch.