Why GTA 6's biggest launch day fear is actually a non-issue

Grand Theft Auto 6 fans worried about the servers going down when the game launches later this year certainly have nothing to fear. Unless its release date is pushed back again, the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 is scheduled to launch on November 19 for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Chances are it will be one of the biggest (if not the biggest) video game launches of all time.

Over the years, major video game launches have often been equated with server issues rendering the games unplayable or at least unstable on launch day. GTA 6 will potentially draw a record number of players on day one, so naturally there may be some concern that the game will have its own server issues at launch. But future GTA 6 players needn't worry about that, because chances are the online mode won't even be available on launch day at all.

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GTA 6's CEO is 'Fearful' of its release

Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has some concerns about the release of GTA 6, especially fan expectations surrounding the game.

GTA 6 online mode is unlikely to be available at launch

Starting with Grand Theft Auto 5Rockstar has held back the online multiplayer portion of its games, adding them later after players have had time to play through the single-player experience. GTA 5s critically acclaimed single-player campaign launched on September 17, 2013, but the online mode did not come out until October 1, 2013. Red Dead Redemption 2s single player launched on October 26, 2018, while Red Dead Online didn't start rolling out until more than a month later, on November 27. If GTA 6 keeps the pattern going, fans shouldn't expect to play its online mode until sometime in December or maybe even early 2027.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)

On the one hand, a delayed release for GTA 6 online mode will likely disappoint those who are primarily interested in the game for its multiplayer. On the other hand, it will allow the focus to stay squarely on GTA 6s characters and story for the first bit of their life, and prevent chaos from millions of people flooding the servers and making the entire game unplayable. Now, as I said, when the online mode do come out, it is likely that there will be some connectivity issues, but hopefully not on the scale we saw with GTA 5s online mode back in the day.

GTA online had serious technical issues during its first two weeks of availability, making it virtually unplayable for many fans. This caused a lot of frustration at the time, but on the bright side, Rockstar gave fans some compensation in the form of in-game currency. So even if GTA 6s online mode has had a rocky launch, at least fans can count on Rockstar to do something to make it up to them.

What kind of weapon is that?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

What kind of weapon is that?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)

As it stands, we don't really know much about GTA 6s online multiplayer mode. Rockstar Games has only released two GTA 6 trailers since it formally announced the game in 2022, and it's unclear when it will release Trailer 3, let alone pull back the curtain on the online mode. It is probable GTA 6s online mode, however, will follow in the previous game's footsteps, so fans can expect a familiar brand of mayhem when the online mode is released to the public.