GTA 6 Will Run at 30 FPS on Every Console as XBOX Announces Major Cloud Gaming Partnership With Take-Two

In a big move for the upcoming title, XBOX has confirmed that Grand Theft Auto 6 will be available through XBOX Cloud Gaming at launch on November 19. The announcement also confirms that Xbox One players can play the game without upgrading to a newer console.

This is on top of a new 10-year strategic partnership between Microsoft and Take-Two Interactive, which could offer several other benefits to the XBOX ecosystem. However, there are some limitations on how you can play the game via the service.

Tom Warren previously reported that XBOX would receive exclusive cloud streaming rights for GTA 6.

You will be able to stream the game through XBOX One and XBOX Series X|S consoles, but PC cloud streaming and television apps will not be supported at launch. This is an unusual restriction, especially since other Xbox Cloud Gaming titles generally support several different devices.

The decision could be tied to Take-Two wanting to control the game's availability before its eventual PC release. The company will likely want PC players to buy the game separately when that version becomes available, rather than access it through cloud streaming at launch.

Still, this arrangement gives XBOX One owners another way to experience GTA 6 without purchasing an expensive current-generation console. You will still need to purchase the game to access cloud gaming, but your existing Xbox One will be enough to get started.

The announcement also highlights Microsoft's 10-year strategic partnership with Take-Two, which could be far more consequential than the initial GTA 6 cloud gaming deal. Rockstar's upcoming launch will also be joined by other titles, including Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, that will also get Xbox Cloud Gaming support over the coming months.

This could eventually lead to additional arrangements involving Game Pass, Play Anywhere, and cloud streaming across more devices. Microsoft has not disclosed all of the deal's details, but the partnership points to more news involving Take-Two's games in the future.

Elsewhere, Rockstar has revealed Grand Theft Auto 6 will be running at 30 FPS on all consoles, including the PlayStation 5 Pro.

That means no dedicated 60 FPS performance mode, ending months of speculation about the game's performance. The report also claims the PS5 Pro will deliver better ray tracing than the standard consoles, but the overall experience will still be capped at 30 FPS. Sony also highlighted several PlayStation 5 features expected in GTA 6, including faster load times, spatial audio with Tempest 3D Audio, and high-fidelity haptic feedback with the DualSense controller.

But XBOX consoles will also support Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision, so players get their own audio and visual features as well. Load times on the Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PS5 Pro should be fairly similar, too. The main difference will probably be the DualSense controller's haptic feedback, rather than a big performance boost.

The confirmation also raises questions for influencers and industry insiders who had previously claimed that GTA 6 would run at 60 FPS on the PS5 Pro. Some even used this performance target as a guarantee, perhaps nudging players to buy the more expensive console before the game's launch.

However, technically, the game's trailers and Digital Foundry's analysis already suggested that hitting 60 FPS would be a big ask. The massive open world and demanding simulation systems will put a lot of strain on the CPU, which is a big bottleneck even on the PS5 Pro with its beefier GPU.

If you are determined to get GTA 6 at 60 FPS, you might want to hold out until the eventual PC release. You'll definitely need a high-end gaming rig to reach that goal, especially if you want to play at higher resolutions. But the consoles currently available won't perform that well. Whether it is PS5 or PS5 Pro, it won't matter. Given how big and demanding the game is likely to be, a 30 FPS target isn't that surprising.

Despite the performance limitations, GTA 6 reportedly is already the most pre-ordered game on the Microsoft Store and is expected to be one of the biggest entertainment releases ever.

The announcement of Xbox's cloud gaming may also push more XBOX One owners to buy the game – especially those who aren't ready to upgrade their hardware. The streamed version will have settings similar to the Xbox Series S, letting older hardware access the experience through Microsoft's servers. 

Tom Warren has also been getting some credit in the wake of the announcement, with several industry figures admitting parts of his original report were accurate. But he clarified that Microsoft isn't technically exclusive to cloud gaming rights for GTA 6, though Xbox consoles will be the only supported streaming devices at launch.

In the future, other platforms may reach similar agreements, and there may be ways to get around current restrictions. That's still a big deal, and it's worth pointing out that his prior report of a long-term XBOX publishing deal with Take-Two was initially dismissed.

That partnership could become even more important as Microsoft moves forward with Project Helix and expands its cloud gaming plans. Cloud gaming time caps could also encourage some players to buy additional hours, particularly XBOX One owners who will depend on the service to play GTA 6.

With the launch now just nine days away, more information about the game and Microsoft's plans is emerging. While Rockstar is keeping console performance limited to 30 FPS, Xbox is using the release to strengthen its relationship with Take-Two and expand its gaming ecosystem's reach.