Grand Theft Auto VI is expected to be released in November of this year on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles. Some players don't understand why the studio won't release the game on PC simultaneously. A recent interview with a former studio employee answers this question.
Former Rockstar producer John Ricchio participated in the KIWI TALKZ podcast. This specialist has worked on Max Payne 3, Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto V, and more.
During the conversation, John Ricchio explained that developers used to first make the game for PC and then port it. This approach proved to be ineffective:
It's not as fashionable now, but there used to be an approach: first, make it work on PC, and then port it to other platforms — and in the end, this led to a lot of problems in the later stages.
According to John, it's better to initially work under strict limitations and only then think about expanding the project, because "compressing" is much more difficult:
Sometimes, of course, advanced features appear later that can be used if you've planned for them in advance. But in general, it's better to first work within limitations and then expand the project, because "compressing" it is much more difficult than growing it. It's much harder to make a game perform better and optimize it than to look at the project later and say: "Oh, we have a reserve of resources here — great, we can slightly relax optimization or add more effects and visual polish."
Rockstar Games is known for its attention to detail and the elaboration of its projects, so this approach with a late PC release is understandable. Developers first work under console limitations, and then when working on PC, it will be easier for them (if desired) to "expand" the game, as they will already have an optimized base.
There is also the factor of resource allocation: if they are spent on solving one task, it means these resources were "taken away" from another. John said that the team had a working PC build of Red Dead Redemption in the early stages, but work on the PC version was postponed:
It's not at all that "we don't care about PC" — it's more a question of whether it's worth spending time on a PC port instead of working on GTA V. Do you understand what I mean? It's always about that. It's not about any prejudice against platforms — you just need to decide whether to invest time and effort in launching the game, say, on Switch or somewhere else. And such decisions have to be made separately for each game [...]
Read more on the topic:
- Why hasn't Rockstar released a GTA IV remaster yet? A blogger asked Roman Bellic's voice actor
- After 22 years, a fan restored a lost mod to access the ghost town in GTA III - the original project was recognized by Rockstar