GTA 6 screenshots may be taken on PC, not reflecting PS5 or Xbox console graphics

Along with the news of pre-order editions and prices, Rockstar Games posted dozens of new GTA 6 screenshots. To some gamers, the quality of the images is too good to be true. Digital Foundry believes the degree of detail exceeds what’s possible on PS5 or Xbox consoles. Although that may give hope for an earlier PC release date, other explanations are likely.

Current-gen console limitations

The site analyzed the screenshots and noted the abundance of ray-traced reflections. Light bounces off all objects realistically, with no signs of the far less demanding screen-space alternative. Other characteristics, like rendering individual hair strands, would also tax the PS5 and Xbox.

Sony and Microsoft’s systems can handle these effects in smaller doses. Yet the overall presentation leads Digital Foundry to doubt that they were captured on these machines. As it argues in a new article, it’s “unlikely that these are real-time results on PS5, Xbox Series X - or in the best case on console, PS5 Pro.”

In the second trailer, Rockstar revealed that the base PS5 recorded the mix of in-game footage and cutscenes. However, it’s unclear which hardware generated the growing collection of screenshots. Since GPUs like the RTX 5090 are better equipped to achieve this level of fidelity, they could be products of a GTA 6 PC port.

What are bullshots?

Another possibility is that the developers took advantage of a photo mode on consoles. These tools allow players to optimize lighting effects and compile higher-quality images. Still, it also wouldn’t be surprising if assets are what gamers call “bullshots.”

Relieved of frame rate concerns, studios share images that don’t represent real-time gameplay. These are often taken from desktop-based development builds. It allows companies to showcase games at high native resolutions with unlimited ray-tracing effects. That said, even the inevitable GTA 6 PC version may feature scaled-down graphics.

Rockstar has yet to confirm the options available for PS5 and Xbox players. Recently, a retailer’s description hinted at a potential 60 fps performance mode on the platforms. Even on the PS5 Pro, the cutting-edge visuals shown in the new GTA 6 screenshots could impact performance.