Grand Theft Auto 6 will undoubtedly be one of the biggest launches in the history of video games, so you’d think that Rockstar Games would be keen to release it on every platform possible. But what about Switch 2?
So far, GTA 6 has only been officially announced for Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. Rockstar has not mentioned Switch 2 or PC at all. The latter makes sense, or at least PC releases for major games sometimes lag behind their console counterparts. The Switch 2 is more of an open question, especially given the graphical intensity of the open-world game.
The Switch 2 is more powerful than its predecessor, but it still does not match the processing power of its competitors — both of which have released souped-up versions of their base consoles. What’s more, the original Switch never got Grand Theft Auto 5. Presumably, that omission was related to the portable console’s limited capabilities. It did, however, get Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy, which bundled the first three games in the seminal series. Infamously, however, that pack was released in a substandard state that seemed to barely hold together on Nintendo’s portable. The remastered trilogy did eventually get an update with a slew of bug fixes a month after release, though.
There’s also been a lot of weirdness around Nintendo and third-party games, with some major publishers claiming that they’ve had difficulty acquiring dev kits for the popular console. It seems unlikely that Nintendo would snub the publisher behind a game with this high a profile. And why wouldn’t Rockstar want the game to be available on the platform that’s breaking records?
If GTA 6 gets a Switch 2 announcement down the line, can the console even handle the game? Like many Rockstar titles, GTA 6 is filled with tiny environmental details, like water physics that can be impacted by players driving vehicles. One reason to believe it will be possible on Switch 2 is that the second trailer was captured entirely in-game on PS5. The Switch 2 might not be able to reach the same highs as the PS5, but Rockstar still has plenty of time to continue optimizing the game. And Nintendo’s console has already seen highly demanding games, like Cyberpunk 2077, run well despite its limitations.
All of this circumstantial evidence would suggest that GTA 6 will absolutely hit Switch 2. But if it’s so obvious, why no announcement? An educated guess: The crime simulator might become available on Switch 2, but the port might not be ready at launch. But with a release date of May 26, 2026, the developer still has a few months to surprise everyone. Perhaps Rockstar will throw Switch 2 owners a bone and tide everyone over with a port of GTA 5 and GTA Online in the meantime.
