‘GTA 6’ on PS5 vs. Xbox: What we know

Grand Theft Auto VI is less than two weeks away, which means it’s time to sort out which console you’re going to play it on at launch, if you haven’t already.

The problem there is that Rockstar Games has given us precious little information to go on regarding how the game looks and runs on PS5 versus the Xbox Series consoles. The official marketing spin has been that GTA 6 “plays best” on PS5 for months now, but Rockstar had not greatly expanded on what that means…until now.

GTA 6 on PS5 and PS5 Pro: What to expect

In a statement that coincided with the game becoming available for pre-load on Tuesday, Rockstar elaborated a little bit on what to expect from each console version of the game, while also sharing a new 30-second trailer. According to Rockstar, GTA6 will target 30 frames per second on every machine at launch, which is not a surprise given the level of visual fidelity on display.

Rockstar also said the PS5 Pro version will support PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (or PSSR), a special technique the PS5 Pro uses to enhance game resolution. Beyond that, PS5 Pro users will have access to ray-traced shadows, meaning (presumably) that every shadow in the game will react realistically to light sources. No other console version of the game will support this feature, at least not at launch.

We’ve already seen the base PS5 version running in the big Netflix trailer back in August, but Rockstar elaborated a bit on that version, too. It’ll include haptic feedback in the DualSense controller, improved 3D audio, and faster load times, though the wording on the load times bit is a little bit vague. We don’t know what the point of comparison is, though one could reasonably assume they’re talking about the Xbox version.

GTA 6 on Xbox: What to expect

Unfortunately, Rockstar’s post was still extremely light on Xbox details. The post reiterated that the game will be available via Xbox Cloud Gaming for those who like to stream games, and that the streaming build will use the Xbox Series S visual settings. That is, I believe, the first confirmation that the less powerful Series S will have its own visual settings, but Rockstar didn’t say anything about what those settings actually entail.

Rockstar also did not mention the Series X version at all. On balance, the Series X is roughly as powerful as a PS5, and most multi-platform games look and run very similarly across both devices. Whether that’s entirely a marketing ploy or actually holds some truth to it will become clear on Nov. 19.