Yes, the GTA 6 leaked footage was probably running on PC, and no, that doesn't tell us a whole lot about the eventual release

The internet is burning with speculation regarding the recent GTA 6 leaked footage, particularly as it appears to have been sourced from someone playing an actual build, rather than leaked video from Rockstar itself.

While we've been pouring over the videos and pulling out some of the juicy in-game details for ourselves, I've also seen some discussion regarding whether the footage was captured from a PC version of the game.

Putting aside the dubiousness of "I have devs in my DMs," I'd say this is probably likely to be correct, as others have suggested. It's either that, or the leaker has access to a console devkit—which seems less likely than a development build that runs on a PC being passed around behind the scenes.

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The problem is, the idea that a PC build exists doesn't really tell us much. It'll be being developed on PC, of course, as that's the platform on which most games are made.

And while a PC release of GTA 6 hasn't been officially announced, there's no doubt that a retail PC version will appear at some point. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said that the console release would be "serving the core" first, so it looks like us PC gamers will still have to wait. Just like we did for GTA V, and Red Dead Redemption 2, and... you get the idea.

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

What would really get me jumping up and down, though, would be an idea of the specs this particular build was running on. Some of the footage shows some reasonably fancy lighting, and areas with surprisingly long draw distances, as do the official trailers to date.

So what I really want to know, alongside the rest of the PC gaming public, is what sort of hardware we're going to need for smooth frame rates when the PC version eventually rears its head. Will a budget graphics card suffice? Or are we going to have to break out the RTX 5080s and RTX 5090s to push the graphics sliders up?

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From the footage I've seen so far, it looks like the game is running at more like 30 fps than 60—although video frame rate conversion being what it is, that might not necessarily be the case. At what settings, though? I've got literally no idea. It looks pretty good, I know that much.

I'd say that given the scope we've seen to date (and Rockstar's tendency to push the boat out for PC releases), we're probably in for something with a relatively scalable low end, and a demanding range of graphics options at the top for the well-heeled gamer. Graphics card prices are ridiculous right now, haven't you heard?

(Image credit: Rockstar)

Again, though, this is mostly guesswork. Because there's not much to do right now but guess.

As things currently stand, what we can glean from this footage in regards to PC is "this was probably captured on one," despite some of the leaps in logic I've seen elsewhere. Yes, I am fun at parties. Join me next week for another dissertation on how PC hardware prices are likely screwed for the next few years, and my take on the dubious existence of one Mr. S. Claus.

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