I think it could even force rockstar to release PC version earlier than planned.
With GTA 6, I really would not worry about this, given just how much interest there is in it. Someone will crack whatever they come up with.
...and that could all be avoided by not trying to cash-in twice by delaying the PC release by a year.
(To be fair though, I kinda do not expect it to be worth all of this hype. It is just more of the same from what I have seen)
You have the same game on PC and console but you have to pay twice to play it on both, despite the engineering effort to adapt the game between them being minimal relative to the whole development effort. But they charge full price for each version as if they go through the entire development effort for each individually. The players will be just as honest about saving money as the devs or publishers are about making money.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootk...
Sony have already introduced a change via a March 2026 firmware update to combat refund exploits and digital piracy (specifically targeting web-store refund loopholes on jailbroken or manipulated consoles) - but this again is firmware and in-memory address storage which is easily parsed and manipulated by Agentic AI.
Simply put, GTA V thinks its running on real hardware. Any sort of hardware based validation check (e.g. hitting hardware specific functions that are HLE in the emulator as more general API calls) will be patched nightly if the likes of the dolphin devlog in recent times is anything to go by. Online checks are even more easily bypassed, unless there's some sort of esoteric quantum or one-time pad style implementation which I can't foresee.
At most less than half a percent of the target market would actually do this.
Still, I’d imagine Rockstar easily being able to sue anyone in the US who tries to play this illegally. It’ll probably just stick to Russia where buying a PS5 is basically impossible anyway.,
I don’t imagine Rockstar would easily be able to sue anyone in the US who tries to play. We haven’t seen that scenario play out with any other emulation or de/re-compilation situation.
How would they know who you are? The RIAA was only able to sue students on college campuses because they were able to get institutional help to match a human with an IP address.
An average Joe with a non-logging VPN defeats that effort immediately.
Someone downloading with Usenet is never at significant risk since they never upload and redistribute data, so they can’t really be sued for copyright infringement.
I’m not a lawyer but that’s my layperson’s understanding.
I just talked to a colleague who’s trying to find an in stock PS5 for GTA6.
Going to sketchy torrents, and configuring it to run locally is beyond what most people really want to do.
I can imagine maybe a few hundred thousand people doing this. Even then it’s going to be like using a hackintosh, the experience will be full of bugs.
How hard is it really? Is he looking for them abandoned in the street?
Tte ps5 has been in the market for years, it is widely and easily available everywhere.
It was literally available from the first two places I checked.
Not 1 click, its few on Next -> Next but thats really it. Checksums, full mod support, optional Direct X or .NET runtime installs bundled within.
Most folks will just do something else.
If it comes out usable, I will try it at least. I don't own consoles nor planning to buy any, no reason I can't run this on much more powerful hardware and enjoy power of modding scene or ie ReShade filters on top of basic game.
ISPs can be obligated to suspend infringing customers.
Why not 99% ? Then Rockstar can go out of business, the entire game industry can collapse and I guess we can all play board games.
It’s not like they’re depriving you of water or something. You’ll be fine if you don’t play GTA6.
Or Rockstar does consider this to be a big deal and delays the release to incorporate Games as a Service style DRM which is much harder to beat.
I've never really dived into GTA series, but oh boy does GTA 6 has a massive momentum and it overshadows every single game release in second half of 2026, distributors moved many titles away from this period.
They already have BOTW torrents that are pre-setup and as easy as it gets.
You do realize that by Sony going 100% digital, ALL games will have to be downloaded? I don't have a PS5 but many of my Xbox Series X games are ~100GB or more.
Soon most publishers will start going even before the official January 2028 deadline - as it helps them cut costs, simplify distribution, cuts PIRACY, leads to more sales/revenue (people cannot borrow - not even from the library, are forced to buy).
So if someone offers them a chance to break free, I think they'll take it.
Also if SO MANY people can try something like OpenClaw (which took a seasoned professional like me a day to set up) then we're underestimating 'normal' people!
"CoPilot, download that PS5 emulator everyone is talking about and then set it up for me."
// Still, I’d imagine Rockstar easily being able to sue anyone in the US who tries to play this illegally
How on earth would they know? At the very least the gold master will be playable in perpetuity. If their netcode is anywhere near as bad as GTA V as well, every piece of DLC or online-service will be replicated on Private servers.
We already have a full eco-system and community-driven multiplayer modification framework for GTA V on PC in the form of FiveM. I'd imagine many talented people (and/or those with token capital) are chomping at the bit to replicate the same with GTA 6.
As soon as someone vibe-codes a one-click installer that does all the work for them, they will.
Getting the game to work and upgrading some graphics was something I dreamed of since childhood (and attempted myself several times). I casually threw Opus 5.5 at it and was surprised at the result.
Didn't know until now that everyone else is doing the same with their favorite old games now.
(In my case, the game is Star Trek: Generations.)
FWIW, AFU is next on my list, I just need to... dig up an old copy of that too.
Shame GoG never got around to remastering either of them, but thankfully Claude has no problems helping here.
Asmongold also did a stream recently where he showed a bunch of insane mashups of AAA games that people are doing, like Mario in Elden Ring or Spiderman in the Arkum Asylum Batman map. You can find it on Youtube.
If this trajectory continues, the AAA games industry will be in trouble. It will be a golden age for game restoration and game modding.
"AI porting" able to follow? (If that AI thing is actually true)
Unless GTA 6 is not hardwired to AMDGPU hardware at release, if they have a cross-platform engine, for PC, it is to click the right export button... and do the QA and debug to please the various 3D drivers out there.
Despite using AI all the time for other engineering projects, I never considered the console scene as something to be explored.
If this ends up allowing me to play GTA 6 on my PC within a few months of release I will be euphoric.