You will be able to play GTA 6 on your PC as Xbox grabs streaming rights for the game

Xbox, the video gaming brand owned by Microsoft, has secured a deal for exclusive game streaming rights for the highly-anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA 6), according to a report by The Verge. This means that only Xbox Cloud Gaming can stream GTA 6 to players at launch. However, it remains unclear how long the pact will be in place.

Rockstar Games, the developer behind GTA 6, has not yet announced a PC version of the upcoming game. This means that the deal will allow Xbox to market its Cloud Gaming service to PC players who would otherwise need an Xbox Series X/S or a PS5 console to play the game.

Since players will be streaming the game over the internet, their connection will determine the gaming experience, including image quality and input speed.

Xbox limits streaming hours

The news about the streaming rights comes around a month after Microsoft announced some big changes to Xbox Cloud Gaming. Starting November, Microsoft is limiting streaming hours for subscribers of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to 15 hours. That limit will be 10 hours for Premium subscribers and only 5 hours for Game Pass Essential.

Pay-as-you-go option coming up

Microsoft is also launching access to Xbox Cloud Gaming with a pay-as-you-go option next month, rather than being limited to Game Pass subscriptions. The option is perfectly timed for GTA 6, which is also coming out in November, allowing gamers who do not own an Xbox, or who primarily play from a phone, to stream the game by paying for a bundle of streaming hours.

Xbox CEO breaks news to staff

Speaking about the development during an all-hands meeting, Xbox chief executive officer (CEO) Asha Sharma told employees that Microsoft was getting ready to do something around GTA 6 that "no other platform holder" was doing.

Sharma also told staff members that Project Helix, the next generation of Xbox hardware, will be a "family of devices," adding that Microsoft will collaborate with others on some of those devices. Last year, Microsoft and the chipmaker AMD had announced a "strategic multi-year partnership" to work together on a "portfolio of devices", including Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox console.

GTA 6 is scheduled to be released on November 19, 2026. But, a native PC release is something that gamers will have to wait longer for.