Grand Theft Auto 6 Online’s Eventual Launch Should Approached With Caution

After years of rumors, leaks, and rampant speculation, Grand Theft Auto 6 was officially unveiled in December 2023. But then things went quiet. GTA 6 wasn’t seen again in any official capacity until a few weeks ago, when Rockstar debuted a second trailer and announced that the long-awaited sequel was being pushed back to May 26, 2026. The wait will be agonizing for many, but it’s good to finally have a concrete release date, one that hopefully doesn’t move again. But the same can’t be said for Grand Theft Auto 6‘s online component.

There’s still no official word on whether GTA 6 will receive an online mode of its own, let alone confirmation of when that potential online mode could launch. Some recent rumors suggest Grand Theft Auto 6‘s online component could be sold separately and arrive a little while after the base game’s launch, but nothing has been officially announced just yet. But even if/when GTA 6‘s online mode gets an official confirmation and release date, fans might want to take it with a pinch of salt.

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Grand Theft Auto 6 Online’s Eventual Launch Might Not Go To Plan

Multiplayer Game Launches Don’t Usually Go Smoothly

Despite multiplayer games being some of the most successful in the entire industry, issues can still arise on launch day and beyond that significantly impact the user experience. One of the biggest issues that still plagues online-only games is server capacity. While the biggest multiplayer games are equipped to handle hundreds of thousands of players at once, a sudden influx of users can still cause issues, whether it’s server-wide lag or crashes.

Though many developers can fix these server issues within a matter of days or sometimes even just hours, any downtime is bad, as it means eager players are left without access. This can be especially harmful when it’s a new game launch, as it can all but eliminate the player’s desire to try out the new title.

Grand Theft Auto 6‘s online mode won’t need to worry about losing players’ interest, but it’s still very likely to suffer from these day-one server issues as it’s bound to receive an absurdly high number of players during its launch window. So, while some players might technically be able to hop into GTA 6 Online on its eventual release day, that day-one experience could be far from ideal, and it could be quite some time before players are able to enjoy a stable experience.

Grand Theft Auto 5 Online’s Launch Was a Disaster

Rockstar already has some experience with disappointing multiplayer launches. Back when Grand Theft Auto 5 Online was released in October 2013, a few weeks after the base game, it was virtually impossible to get into a game and stay there for longer than a few minutes. Rockstar’s servers weren’t ready for the sheer number of players wanting to jump in at launch, and those issues persisted for a good few days before the developer could put some fixes in place.

Online gaming has come a very long way since 2013, and Rockstar is undoubtedly more aware of the incoming demand for Grand Theft Auto 6‘s online mode. But even with a plan in place, there’s a strong possibility that GTA 6 Online’s day one experience will be less than perfect.