Which console do you actually need to play GTA 6?
Any PS5 or Xbox Series will do: Grand Theft Auto VI arrives on 19 November on PS5, PS5 Pro, Xbox Series X and Series S, and it will not release on PS4, Xbox One or Switch. The only console with enhancements specifically confirmed by Rockstar is the PS5 Pro, and the cheapest way in is a Series S. There is no PC date.
That's the short answer. The long one has three wrinkles that change the decision depending on your case: what each machine costs today (and what it will cost in August), which version of the game your TV will actually show, and a detail we covered at the time that levels the field quite a bit: GTA 6's physical box ships without a disc on every console, just a download code.
PS5 and PS5 Digital: the middle ground most people will pick
The standard PS5 costs €649.99 with a disc drive and €549.99 in its Digital version since April's price rise. For GTA 6, the gap between them matters less than ever: since the physical box only contains a code, the drive doesn't save you the download or let you resell the game, so the classic case for the drive shrinks to backwards compatibility with your existing collection and the second-hand market for other titles.
On the standard model, the game will look and run the way Rockstar has shown it in the trailers, which are captured on PS5. It's the sensible option if you're coming from PS4, if your TV is a regular 4K set, and if the €250 leap to the Pro feels better spent on the game itself, an extra controller and a year of subscription.
PS5 Pro: the only console with Rockstar-confirmed enhancements
At €899.99 the Pro is this generation's emotional purchase, but in GTA 6's specific case it has one objective argument: it's the only machine for which Rockstar has confirmed specific enhancements. Add Sony's upgraded PSSR, whose compatible-games list we keep up to date, which delivers visibly sharper images without sacrificing fluidity in the games that integrate it well.
Is that worth €250 more? If you're going to sink two hundred hours into GTA 6 on a big TV, this is exactly the kind of game where that leap shows every minute. If you're torn between resolution and performance modes, here's what DLSS, FSR and PSSR actually do and why that choice will be on the menu of nearly everything you play.
Xbox Series X and Series S: good machines with the calendar against them
The clock rules here: Microsoft raises prices on 1 August, so today's figures expire tomorrow. The Series X goes from €599 to €749 with a drive and from €549 to €699 for the Digital model; the Series S climbs from €349 to €449 for the 512 GB model and from €399 to €549 for the 1 TB one. If you had already decided to play GTA 6 on Xbox, buying today instead of tomorrow is literally money in your pocket.
Performance-wise, the Series X plays in the same league as the standard PS5, and the Series S is the cheap door into the full game at a lower resolution. The wrinkle worth knowing before buying physical: the code in the Xbox box is region-locked, something to watch if you tend to import games or buy abroad.
Our recommendation, case by case
If you already own any of these consoles, stay put: the game will run well on all of them and we've already explained why pre-ordering isn't urgent either. Starting from zero on a tight budget, the 512 GB Series S at €349 is today — and only today — by far the cheapest ticket to Vice City. For the middle ground, PS5 Digital at €549.99; and if money isn't the variable, the Pro is the only one carrying Rockstar's stamp on the enhancements. Waiting for PC? With no date in sight, that patience is measured in years, not months.
The perfect console for Vice City is almost always the one already plugged in under your TV.
The conversation starts here
Sign in with a supporter account to comment. Sign in
Nobody has commented yet. Want to go first?