Will Grand Theft Auto VI be a Xbox/Windows 10 exclusive? Rumours suggest that Microsoft is working on a big deal with Rockstar Games’ parent company Take-Two Interactive.
Microsoft are reportedly close to finalising a deal with a massive developer and industry insiders believe that it just might be Take-Two Interactive, the parent company to Rockstar Games and 2K. If this happens, Grand Theft Auto VI just might be a Xbox Series X|S and Windows 10 exclusive.
RELATED: Starfield and future Bethesda games to be Xbox Game Pass exclusive.
Microsoft have been teasing a huge announcement for some time now. The company have been making some power plays and are close to becoming the Disney equivalence in the gaming industry. In the last couple of years Microsoft have acquired Electornic Art’s game subscription service EA Play as well as triple A game studio behind the The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series, Bethesda Softworks.
Many industry analysts have speculated that Microsoft’s biggest move is yet to be played which has lead many to speculate as to who Bill Gate’s software company would acquire next. Earlier this year whispers were heard that Microsoft would either be acquiring SEGA or Ubisoft, but now all eyes are on Rockstar Games’ parent company Take-Two Interactive. Even Take-Two Interactives CEO, Strauss Zelnick, hinted at a acquisition announcement happening before 2022.
Take-Two Interactive CEO teased acquisition.
“Look, we have seen an acceleration in M&A activity. Obviously, Microsoft is acquiring Bethesda, for example, which is a significant, I believe seven some odd billion dollar transaction,” Zelnick told investors. “So I think you’re going to continue to see increased M&A activity, just because of the heat around the category and the amount of capital that’s being deployed by big companies to pursue it.”
A solid relationship with Xbox Game Studios was established via their subsidiary company Private Division. That’s right, Take-Two Interactive had a big part to play in the creation of the open world role-playing game The Outer World. Private Division and Obsidian Entertainment worked closely together on The Outer Worlds in 2018 shortly before Microsoft’s acquisition of Obsidian Entertainment in 2018; Private Division had also managed to secure publishing rights before the buyout.
Despite owning the publishing rights to The Outer World, Private Division seems to have recently abandoned their official website and they haven’t posted any news update since March. Their shop listings also lead to broken pages which might suggest that the company has been acquired.
In an interview published on MCVUK, Private Division head Michael Worosz discussed Microsoft’s acquisitions in 2018, which were clearly geared towards the same kind of middle-sized studios that Private Division is partnering with. According to Worosz, Microsoft will have to prove ongoing Xbox Game Pass growth to be able to do additional acquisitions of this kind and even then not every independent studio will want to be under their control.
And grow they did. Xbox Game Pass’ growth over the past year has been described as “nothing short of remarkable.” In April 2020, Microsoft revealed that they had 10 million Game Pass subscriptions. This number jumped 50 percent just several months later as the service logged a whopping 15 million active users by September.
GTA 6 day-one on PC.
So what will happen to the Rockstar Games if Take-Two Interactive is actually acquired by Microsoft? Well, you can bet that Grand Theft Auto VI and any other Take-Two Interactive game will not come to the PlayStation consoles. Frankly, Microsoft don’t need to launch games on PlayStation for that extra cash; they are well established in the console and PC gaming zones thanks to their Ultimate Game Pass.
This acquisition would also be great news for PC gamers because it would mean that Rockstar Games would not have to waste time on making several different ports for the game. Grand Theft Auto VI could be directly pushed PC on day-one of launch to the Game Pass via Microsoft’s xCloud. This would save Take-Two Interactive many millions in development.
Microsoft have not confirmed the rumours of the Take-Two deal yet but it is possible that a full announcement could be make at this year’s E3 event in just a few short weeks.