Vermeij: AI could port GTA VI to PC, pressuring Rockstar

Rockstar has a track record of putting console launches ahead of PC ports for its major 3D releases, and GTA VI fits that pattern: no official PC timing has been announced, with reports pointing to the first quarter of 2027. What Vermeij argues has changed is the cost of copying that work. AI-powered reverse-engineering tools, he told Rock Paper Shotgun, can turn a console game binary into raw code with brute-force efficiency and minimal human effort, which undercuts the old assumption that a game this big is too costly to rip off.

He is careful about the limits. Decompiling something as complex as GTA VI is not like the earlier human-led decompilations of early 3D GTA games, and an AI harness might struggle with details like the advanced weather systems and scripted sweat simulations. Even so, a resulting port probably would not match Rockstar's own effort but could still be good enough for some PC players — which is why Vermeij says he "wouldn't be surprised" if there were an effort to bring the releases a little bit closer together.

The broader point he makes is about effort as a moat: previously the sheer work of developing the game made ripping it off impractical, and that has "completely changed now." How this plays out, he concedes, is something the next couple of years will have to show.