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.
They already have BOTW torrents that are pre-setup and as easy as it gets.
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.
As soon as someone vibe-codes a one-click installer that does all the work for them, they will.
"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.
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!