GTA Online made Rockstar more money than almost anything else in gaming, so it's fair to assume GTA 6 would launch with a shiny new version. Right now, the evidence points the other way.

Here's what we actually know, and what's still guesswork.

What Rockstar said

When pre-orders opened, Rockstar's announcement described GTA 6 as a single-player experience. There was no mention of an online mode, no multiplayer features in the edition breakdowns and nothing in the Ultimate Edition extras that relates to online play.

That's a big change from GTA V, which launched with GTA Online two weeks later and talked about it from the start.

The ESRB clue

When the ESRB rated GTA 6 M for Mature, coverage of the listing noted something missing: there's reportedly no "Users Interact" label. That label shows up on games where you can chat or play with other people online. It isn't proof on its own, since ratings get updated, but it fits the single-player picture.

You can read the full breakdown of the rating in our GTA 6 age rating guide.

So when does online arrive?

Nobody outside Rockstar knows. Twitch's CEO has suggested GTA 6's multiplayer could land in 2027, but that's an outside guess, not an announcement. Rockstar hasn't given a window, and Take-Two hasn't put one in any earnings call.

There's also one report claiming Rockstar confirmed GTA 6 will launch with a brand-new GTA Online. We couldn't match that to anything Rockstar has published, and it contradicts the pre-order wording, so we don't think it's right.

What happens to the current GTA Online?

It keeps going. GTA Online on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S is still getting updates, and nothing has been said about shutting it down when GTA 6 arrives. Your characters and properties there are safe for now.

Why launch single-player first?

It makes some sense. A single-player launch lets Rockstar get the biggest release in years out of the door without also running servers for tens of millions of players on day one. It also gives the team time to build online properly around whatever players end up loving most in Leonida.

If you were planning a launch-night session with friends, plan for the story instead. And if you were holding off on pre-ordering because of online, there's nothing to wait for yet.

We're tracking this on our Confirmed vs Rumor Tracker and will update the moment Rockstar says anything about online.