GTA 6 Looks Amazing, but the 63 New Screenshots Probably Don't Represent Gameplay, Tech Experts Believe

Yesterday, Rockstar released 63 brand new screenshots for GTA 6 , each one wowing fans with their impressive level of detail. The images provide our best look at the game as it stands today, in lieu of Trailer 3 of course. But how representative are they of the actual game fans will be playing this November?

The tech experts at Digital Foundry have analyzed the screenshots to try to work out what they’re telling us about GTA 6. It’s worth checking out their analysis in full, as there’s plenty of talk of “an unprecedented level of polish” and ray traced reflections. They’ve even noticed a look at a car’s engine through a reflective sheen on the underside of its hood. There can be no doubt that GTA 6 looks very impressive indeed.

But with DF’s analysis comes a word of caution. Author Tom Morgan thinks it “unlikely” that the screenshots represent real-time results on any platform GTA 6 is set to launch on this November. It’s safe to rule out the Xbox Series S, but DF also questions whether the screenshots came from the PS5, Xbox Series X, or even the PS5 Pro. DF can’t be sure at this stage — like everyone, they’re waiting for GTA 6 to actually come out before issuing a verdict — but there’s evidence to suggest that what we’re seeing in the screenshots isn’t actually feasible on the consoles.

“With such a high level of fidelity on show, then, a question still dangles over which platform is actually being used to generate these shots,” Morgan wrote. “To be clear, we find it unlikely that these are real-time results on PS5, Xbox Series X - or in the best case on console, PS5 Pro. We'd like to be pleasantly surprised of course, and this will be firmly answered once it releases. However in many instances the combination of pristine image quality, suggesting a native 4K render (or higher), and inconsistent lighting on foreground characters casts doubt over how feasible it is.”

So, if not taken from the consoles, where did these screenshots come from? Perhaps a PC version (everyone expects GTA 6 to come out on PC eventually). DF suggests they may have been carefully constructed within GTA 6’s development environment to represent the “perfect shot,” where frame-rate isn’t a consideration. The suggestion is these screenshots are not taken from GTA 6 actually running. At a push, they might have been created using a photo mode (Rockstar has yet to announce such a mode in GTA 6).

“Incidentally, these would be easy for Rockstar to generate within the game's development environment, where the framing, character positions, and lighting could orchestrate a perfect shot – irrespective of framerate — with all settings dialled up to 11,” Morgan continued. “To be clear, the ray tracing aspect is very much an expected feature on console — and indeed we have it already in GTA 5 — but as for what's possible on base PS5, Pro, and Series X, time will tell how close real time console visuals actually end up to these images.”

Of course, GTA 6 looks amazing from what we’ve seen of it so far, and fans expect to truly push the consoles to their limit. But Rockstar has yet to confirm performance targets for GTA 6, so we don’t know what's coming in terms of resolution and framerate across the consoles. What we do know is that GTA 6 features a massive open world, or, as Rockstar itself described it yesterday: “the biggest and most immersive evolution of the series yet.”

We’ve got plenty more on GTA 6 for you, including confirmation of the GTA 6 price , analyst opinion on what the price means for other video games, the exclusive content that comes with the Ultimate Edition, and confirmation GTA 6 is a “single-player experience.”

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.