Sony rumored to have 'locked down marketing rights' to GTA 6 on the PS5, and PS5 Pro

Sony has reportedly "locked down marketing rights" to Rockstar's game-changing GTA 6 for its PlayStation 5 and upcoming beefed-up PlayStation 5 Pro consoles.

On the XNC podcast recently, "MAGG" said that we're going to learn during Rockstar's second trailer for GTA 6 that "Sony has locked down marketing rights for GTA 6 for the PS5 and PS5 Pro only". Colt asked what would that mean for Xbox, to which he replied: "nothing, they're still getting it... it's just not going to get the marketing exposure, that's all".

Sony would be silly not to throw whatever money they need to at Rockstar, for what will arguably be the largest entertainment release of all time (not just gaming, but music sales, box office records, etc) with GTA 6. It has been killing it in console sales with the PlayStation 5 demolishing Microsoft's and its weak Xbox sales, and has a beefed-up PlayStation 5 Pro console right around the corner.

Why wouldn't you want to have locked down marketing rights for the biggest game of all time on your consoles, which by the time GTA 6 is released, there will be two PlayStation 5 consoles on the market: the standard PS5, and the upgraded PS5 Pro.

• Read more: PlayStation 5 Pro dev kit leaks: 2TB SSD, beefed-up PS5 Pro only uses around 200W power

Sony's upgraded PS5 Pro will be the platform of choice for GTA 6 in 2025, something I said back in late 2023 rings true with the new rumors: "Can you imagine the biggest game of all time, running on the most powerful console of all time -- the PS5 Pro -- at 4K 60FPS or even 8K 30FPS? That would be incredible to see, and something PC gamers would lust after... and can't have. I'm sure that Rockstar will have GTA 6 on the PC maybe a year after the PS5 Pro gets its time in the limelight (profits, ya'll)".

See that "profits, ya'll" comment... yeah, those "locked down marketing rights" would've cost the Japanese giant a pretty penny, but it'll be worth it for the PS5 and PS5 Pro as the console that Rockstar recommends for GTA 6.

• Read more: Jeff Grubb says Sony will launch the PS5 Pro this year, geared up for GTA 6 in 2025
• Read more: PlayStation 5 Pro was an 'open secret' at Gamescom 2024 with game developers
• Read more: PS5 lead system architect: surprised by RT, 60FPS, PC ports are super easy
• Read more: Sony confirms PS5 Pro by filing copyright strike against leakers video on PS5 Pro
• Read more: PlayStation 5 Pro 'PS5 Pro Enhanced' label: upscale to 4K, constant 60FPS games
• Read more: PlayStation 5 Pro's new PSSR to radically improve image quality
• Read more: PlayStation 5 Pro features next-gen RDNA 4 RT engine, allows 2-3x faster RT
• Read more: PS5 Pro console features PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR)
• Read more: PS5 Pro rumor: 45% faster than standard PS5, 2-3x faster in ray tracing

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We've heard rumors that Sony could unveil its new PS5 Pro at the Tokyo Games Show in September, so we're only a few weeks away from that now.

A recap of what to expect from the PlayStation 5 Pro console from recent rumors:

• PS5 Pro runs cool and quiet, around 200W of power: The PS5 Pro has recently been rumored to use around 200W of power, the same power connector as the standard PS5, and it runs cooler thanks to tweaks from AMD and TSMC's improved process node on the Viola SoC inside of the PS5 Pro.
• 45% faster than standard PS5: The new codenamed Trinity SoC is a beefed-up semi-custom design from AMD with a larger GPU and faster GDDR6 memory. The higher clock speeds on the GPU and some RDNA 4 tech are going to provide a huge upgrade in performance over the regular PS5.
• 2-3x faster in ray tracing than standard PS5: An increase of 45% in performance over the standard PS5 is impressive, but the new RDNA 4 GPU tricks inside of the PS5 Pro will reportedly provide an insane 2-3x performance increase on new "PS5 Pro Enhanced" games on a PlayStation 5 Pro console.
• AI-powered PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) upscaling tech: The new PS5 Pro console will have some AI technology (of course) which will power an exciting new AI upscaling technology: PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution -- or PSSR -- which means we're going to see some of the best graphics we've seen out of a console yet with the PS5 Pro.
• PS5 Pro Enhanced label for games: Sony will have a new "PS5 Pro Enhanced" label for games, which will see games using PSSR to upscale the resolution to 4K, a constant 60FPS, and then add or increase ray tracing effects and performance.