Is GTA Cross-Platform?

Grand Theft Auto is an iconic, open-world franchise with a rich history going back more than two decades. Since 2013, with the introduction of GTA Online, the Grand Theft Auto platform has predominately been made up of a thriving, popular multiplayer ecosystem. There have been no new additions to the single-player side of the GTA franchise since then, but the online environment is booming. Today, we’re looking at the multiplayer modes available and asking, is GTA cross-platform?

Grand Theft Auto Online is one of the most profitable and popular multiplayer platforms to ever exist. It has millions of players and in the last decade, it has received countless updates, both major and minor. While previous iterations in the series boasted multiplayer, GTA Online became its own game, transcending the traditional single-player experience that GTA was known and loved for. As one of the most popular multiplayer platforms out there, it would make sense that GTA 5 crossplay exists, but does it?

Let’s find out.

Is Grand Theft Auto The Greatest Series Ever?

For some fans of the franchise, the line, ‘GTA V: the greatest game of all time‘, is an absolutely factual statement. Since the game launched in September 2013, it has dominated sales charts, pulled in billions of dollars in revenue for Rockstar Games, and entertained tens of millions of players. It has been re-released across three generations of consoles, and despite having no solid single-player updates since it was released, it has remained at the top of the table.

As a community, the love for Grand Theft Auto goes back two decades. Throughout history, the franchise has seen some monumentally huge launches, with the core popularity of Grand Theft Auto emerging in the ‘PlayStation 2 era’. There are universally fond memories of sitting in front of the television, slamming the best GTA San Andreas cheat codes into the game, and exploring a vast, diverse, open-world environment.

According to statistics, Grand Theft Auto is the fifth best-selling video game franchise of all time. Moreover, GTA V is the second best-selling individual video game in history, selling more than 170 million copies as of 2022, with the figure set to keep on climbing. With all this information in mind, let’s take a look at the multiplayer modes introduced by Rockstar Games in recent years. We’ll discover if GTA 5 crossplay features exist, and answer the all-important question: ‘is GTA cross-platform’?

Is GTA Cross-Platform?

While the question addresses the entire GTA franchise, it’s only worth talking about GTA Online. At present, the previous GTA titles boasted minimal multiplayer features, and before GTA 5, only GTA IV had a multiplayer mode with any depth. However, GTA Online smashes GTA IV’s online modes out of the water, introducing a persistent online world with levelling features, event mechanics, and a commerce system of sorts.

Unfortunately, GTA is not cross-platform; GTA 5 crossplay features do not exist. While the multiplayer platform has existed for almost a decade, the paths of various platforms have never crossed, and even by today, there are no cross-platform capabilities in the game. However, GTA Online does boast cross-progression, and players can pull their saves across to different platforms using their Rockstar Games Social Club account.

For instance, if you were on Xbox Series X and you bought a PlayStation 5, you can port your saves across. There’s one caveat here – any funds purchased through the unique stores found on each platform will remain unique to those stores. While you’ll bring across any monies earned in-game, bought currency cannot be transferred.

So, GTA Online crossplay features do not exist, but can we look to the future? Will GTA 6 be cross-platform?

Image Credit: Rockstar Games

What’s In Store For GTA 6?

At the moment, very little is known about the next title in the Grand Theft Auto franchise. For instance, the GTA 6 release date is an absolute mystery, even though Rockstar Games has confirmed that the game is well and truly in development. Typically, the best crossplay games out there are focused on short-form, quick-release multiplayer environments, so at present, it seems unlikely that GTA 6 would be a cross-platform title.

This is the same format seen across other Rockstar Games releases. For instance, Red Dead Online crossplay features do not exist, and the game boasts a similar ecosystem to GTA Online. While many multiplayer titles are opening their doors to crossplay mechanics these days, it seems that Rockstar Games isn’t at all interested in the benefits of a cross-platform environment.

Regardless of that fact, GTA Online still remains one of the most popular multiplayer games of all time.