Grand Theft Auto 6 is the first truly ‘next-gen’ console game I’ve seen and the only one that’ll make me ditch my gaming PC for months

Jason & Lucia in GTA 6
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

It was only a matter of time until Rockstar Games dropped a bombshell on us all with its second trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6, especially after the news of a delay pushing the game's release into 2026.

Featuring the most in-depth look yet, with action-packed sequences, plus incredibly realistic character animations and physics, I can say without a doubt that GTA 6 is the one and only game I've seen that truly looks 'next-gen'.

I only think this because, so far in the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S generation, there have been very few games that really seem like such a significant leap forward to me. Assassin's Creed Shadows, solely judging going by its visuals, has been the only game that has left me in awe so far - which makes sense as developer Ubisoft opted to ditch the last generation of consoles.

Despite this, Rockstar Games has once again proved that it's in a league of its own. From all the minor details of environments, the life-like character models, apparent ray-traced lighting effects, to even the impressive flow of beer in virtual bottles (if you've seen the trailer, you know what I'm talking about here), GTA 6 is set to be an absolute showstopper and could raise the bar for open-world games forever.

Even as a life-long PC gamer, after seeing trailer 2, I have to admit my gaming rig will be collecting dust for months when it releases on May 26, 2026.

Jason Duval outside of a hotel

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

I'm not waiting around

As a gamer who primarily plays on PC, it hurts to have a gaming rig that is an absolute powerhouse ready to tackle the most demanding triple-A games out there, and still feel the need to resort to using my PS5.

I've mentioned this previously as it's why I despise console exclusivity - because, let's be honest, GTA 6's console-only launch is likely a double-dip strategy that's intended to make people like me buy once on console, then again on PC.

GTA 6 will come to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S on May 26, 2026 (that is if it doesn't get delayed again), and there's just no way that I won't be rushing out to get my hands on it day one as the wait for a console release could be long. There's a strong chance that PC players may not be getting the game until at least 2027, at least based on Rockstar Games' previous PC ports.

Grand Theft Auto 5 is a prime example; it didn't make its way to PC until 2015, two years after it came to consoles in 2013. Red Dead Redemption 2 took a year to launch on PC after its console launch in 2018. I really hope I'm not jinxing this, but at worst, going off of the game's massive scale, budget, and development time, we might even see a wait until 2029 - when I'll almost be 30, just let that sink in!

That said, I am very lucky that I still own my PS5, because if you also want to play on day one and don't have one yet the situation is not looking so great with potential price increases on the way...

Lucia Caminos

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

I don't need to dive deep into the topic of US tariffs to tell you that there's massive uncertainty with prices on all things tech. We've already seen Sony increase the price of the PS5 recently, and Microsoft put its Xbox Series X up to $599.99 (a ridiculously high price point, I may add).

With the issue of tariffs at hand, there's no time to speculate over whether there will be another price jump for the PS5 when the digital edition is still around for £429.99 in the UK and AU$749.95 in Australia. I'm not saying those are cheap prices, but the console could become much more expensive soon.

As I've already explained, I have a PS5, but if I wasn't in that position I would be rushing out to the store to get one well in advance of the GTA 6 release in order to dive in day one. It's an important consideration to make if you don't want to have to spend over the odds on a console in order to avoid having the GTA 6 experience spoiled by others online before getting to play on PC.

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Isaiah Williams
Staff Writer, Computing

Isaiah is a Staff Writer for the Computing channel at TechRadar. He's spent over two years writing about all things tech, specifically games on PC, consoles, and handhelds. He started off at GameRant in 2022 after graduating from Birmingham City University in the same year, before writing at PC Guide which included work on deals articles, reviews, and news on PC products such as GPUs, CPUs, monitors, and more. He spends most of his time finding out about the exciting new features of upcoming GPUs, and is passionate about new game releases on PC, hoping that the ports aren't a complete mess.

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