Xbox secures exclusive GTA 6 streaming rights
Xbox has secured exclusive streaming rights for Grand Theft Auto VI, according to The Verge. The deal would make Xbox Cloud Gaming the only service able to stream the game at launch in November.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma told employees during an all-hands meeting this morning that Microsoft is getting ready to do something around Grand Theft Auto VI that “no other platform holder is doing,” according to The Verge. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans said Xbox landed the exclusive streaming rights.
The streaming rights arrive in November, when Microsoft is opening up access to Xbox Cloud Gaming. The agreement’s length was not clear. Rockstar Games still has not announced a PC version of Grand Theft Auto VI, so the deal would allow Xbox to market Xbox Cloud Gaming to PC players who would otherwise need an Xbox Series X / S or a PlayStation 5 console.
News of the streaming rights comes about a month after Microsoft announced major changes to Xbox Cloud Gaming. From November, the same month Grand Theft Auto VI releases, Microsoft is limiting streaming hours to 15 hours for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, 10 hours for Premium subscribers, and five hours for Game Pass Essential subscribers. Microsoft is also opening access to Xbox Cloud Gaming with a pay-as-you-go option next month, rather than limiting it to Game Pass subscriptions. The pay-as-you-go option is timed for Grand Theft Auto VI, allowing people who do not own an Xbox, or who primarily play from a phone, to stream the game by paying for a bundle of hours.
During the Xbox all-hands, Sharma also said Project Helix, the next generation of Xbox hardware, will be a “family of devices,” and Microsoft will partner with others on some of those devices. Sharma first called Helix a family of devices last month in an interview, after Microsoft and AMD announced a “strategic multi-year partnership” last year to work together on “a portfolio of devices,” including Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox console.