Xbox has denied reports suggesting it obtained exclusive game-streaming rights for Grand Theft Auto 6. The initial suggestion came from a report on The Verge, which cited an all-hands meeting in which CEO Asha Sharma allegedly told staff that Xbox plans to do something “no other platform holder is doing” around GTA 6.
The report inferred that Xbox had acquired exclusive game streaming rights for GTA 6, which would allow anyone using Xbox’s Cloud Gaming service to stream GTA 6 on any supported platform – including on PC where the game won’t natively be available.
Shortly after the report was published, however, Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball took to X to quash the suggestion and said Xbox won’t be streaming GTA 6 exclusively, nor will the game be available that way on PC. “While the excitement for GTA 6 and Xbox is great to see,” Ball said, “it has also led to some misreporting. We are looking forward to launching GTA 6 on Xbox November 19, though the game will not be streaming exclusively or to PC.”
Nevertheless, Ball didn’t deny Xbox having cloud streaming rights for GTA 6 on Xbox consoles specifically, which could be what the deal is actually about . If it is, an Xbox user would need to purchase a copy of GTA 6 and subscribe to Xbox Cloud Gaming to stream the game to – seemingly – anything but a PC.
Xbox’s cloud streaming service has changed dramatically in recent months. Following Sharma’s appointment as CEO, the company has capped the number of Cloud Gaming play-hours available to Game Pass members. After years of no limits, Game Pass users are now limited to just 15 hours per month at the highest tier, Ultimate, which is reportedly a tipping-point where the streaming service stops being profitable for Microsoft.
In November, perhaps timed around the launch of GTA 6, Xbox is also launching Xbox Cloud Gaming as a standalone service that anyone can use without the need for a Game Pass membership. This paid model allows users to buy chunks of playtime hours to stream games they own to supported devices.
Xbox is also exploring different business models around game streaming. The company is already testing an ad-supported, free tier of Cloud Gaming with Xbox Insiders, and a November launch for that tier would make sense.
Beyond the Xbox portion of the report, Rockstar has not announced any GTA 6 streaming deals with any provider, though that could change as we get closer to the game’s 19th November release date.
