GTA VI Is Coming to Xbox Cloud Gaming, but It’s Not Supposed to Be Streamable on PC

Microsoft has a special deal in place for streaming Grand Theft Auto VI through Xbox Cloud Gaming. Initial reports even claimed the deal included exclusive streaming rights, but Xbox denied that shortly afterward. GTA VI will be streamable through Xbox, but it won’t be exclusive, and cloud gaming won’t give PC players access to the game at launch.

The story was first reported by Tom Warren of The Verge. According to his sources, Xbox boss Asha Sharma told employees at an internal meeting yesterday that Microsoft was preparing something involving GTA VI that “no other platform holder is doing.” He then reported that Xbox had secured exclusive cloud streaming rights for GTA VI at launch.

Such a deal would mean that Xbox Cloud Gaming would be the only cloud service where GTA VI could be played, at least for a time. It also prompted speculation that PC players might be able to play the console version through the cloud before a native PC version is released.

Xbox later corrected the reports of exclusivity. Xbox Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball said that the excitement around GTA VI and Xbox had led to inaccurate reports. He confirmed that GTA VI would launch on Xbox on November 19, but added that the game “won’t be streamed exclusively, or on PC.”

The Verge subsequently updated its article and no longer refers to exclusive rights. According to the current version, Microsoft secured streaming rights for GTA VI, allowing it to be played through Xbox Cloud Gaming at launch. The exact terms of the deal remain somewhat unclear, particularly given Ball’s confirmation that streaming won’t be available on PC.

This also means Xbox Cloud Gaming won’t be a shortcut to GTA VI for PC players. It’s unclear exactly how Microsoft plans to restrict streaming, given that streaming utilities are widely available and it’s possible to connect to a stream on PC without the official app. For example, Better xCloud lets users change how a device identifies itself to the service.

The main question is what exactly Asha Sharma meant when she said Xbox was preparing something with GTA VI that no other platform holder is doing. A streaming deal clearly exists, but Microsoft has yet to explain its precise capabilities and limitations in more detail.

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