GTA 6 pre-orders went live a week ago, and the screenshots that came with them have sent the internet into another round of arguments. This time, the fight is about frame rate. Some retailer listings have hinted at separate quality and performance options, and that has players hoping for a smooth GTA 6 60 FPS experience on launch day. The tech experts over at Digital Foundry just gave their honest take on the situation, and it might not be the answer most fans were hoping for.

What Started This Whole Debate Again

This isn't actually a new conversation. Back in 2024, when GTA 6 was first announced, people were already debating whether the game could hit 60 FPS on PS5 or Xbox Series X|S. That talk cooled down for a while, but it came roaring back once the new trailer and a batch of pre-order screenshots dropped, showing off just how detailed Leonida really looks.

Add in a few retailer listings that mention quality and performance modes, and you can see why everyone is talking about frame rate again.

Why Digital Foundry Doesn't Think GTA 6 60 FPS Is Realistic

You can watch the video on why Digital Foundry just reset everyone's GTA 6 frame rate hopes, and we will explain more below:

The CPU

If you've seen the recent Vice City aerial footage Rockstar quietly posted, you already know how packed this world is, with boats, planes, cars, and even parallax window interiors all rendering at once.

The biggest challenge isn't making the game look good. It's making everything work together. NPCs, traffic, weather, and other systems are constantly running in the background, putting a heavy load on the CPU.

GTA 6 60 FPS

That's why Digital Foundry believes GTA 6 is more demanding than games like Dragon's Dogma 2 and Baldur's Gate 3. With its larger, denser world, they expect the console versions to target 30 FPS instead of 60 FPS.

PS5 Pro Doesn't Really Fix the Problem

The PS5 Pro has also been part of the discussion for months. Earlier leaks claimed it could be the only console capable of running GTA 6 at 60 FPS because PlayStation engineers were reportedly working with Rockstar on optimization.

However, the PS5 Pro's biggest upgrades are on the GPU side, including better ray tracing and PSSR upscaling, while its CPU is only slightly more powerful than the base PS5. Since the CPU is expected to be the main bottleneck, Digital Foundry believes the PS5 Pro is more likely to target 30 FPS, with 40 FPS being a possibility instead of 60 FPS.

Rockstar's Track Record Backs This Up

Rockstar's recent console releases also support this idea. GTA 4, GTA 5, and Red Dead Redemption 2 all launched at 30 FPS, with GTA 5 only getting a 60 FPS mode years later on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. So far, nothing from Rockstar suggests GTA 6 will be any different.

What About the Leaked GTA 6 Graphic Modes?

Those retailer listings mentioning quality and performance mode sound exciting, but they're also pretty vague. Almost every PS5 and PS5 Pro game includes those options, so seeing them doesn't automatically mean GTA 6 will run at 60 FPS.

If 60 FPS really is off the table, 40 FPS could be a good middle ground. It feels noticeably smoother than 30 FPS, especially when moving the camera or driving around the world, but it doesn't require nearly as much processing power as a full 60 FPS mode.

GTA 6 60 FPS

If you're planning your GTA 6 setup around 60 FPS, it might be worth keeping expectations in check for launch. That doesn't mean it can never happen, though. Some large open-world games have received performance improvements after release as developers optimized them further and newer hardware became available.

For now, 30 FPS looks like the safest expectation, while a 40 FPS mode on PS5 Pro seems like a realistic possibility. Rockstar hasn't confirmed any frame rate targets, so these expectations are based on Digital Foundry's technical analysis and current hardware limitations.

GTA 6 launches on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 19th, 2026 (check our countdown timer to see how many days you have left until the game drops). Pre-order is now available in selected stores with bonuses, and Ultimate Edition option.