GTA 6 vs Red Dead Redemption 2
Every prediction on this site leans on one comparison more than any other: RDR2. Here's why it's the closest thing we have to a technical preview of GTA 6, and where the two are expected to diverge.
Why RDR2 is the reference point
RDR2 (2018) is the most recent Rockstar open-world title built at a comparable scope to GTA 6, on the same core RAGE engine lineage. GTA V (2013) is over a decade old and was built for PS3/Xbox 360 first, its technical ceiling doesn't reflect current-gen-only development the way RDR2, built for PS4/Xbox One at the high end of that generation, does.
Side by side
| Aspect | RDR2 | GTA 6 (predicted) |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | RAGE (Rockstar Advanced Game Engine) | RAGE, next iteration |
| Console generation | PS4/Xbox One (cross-gen) | PS5/Xbox Series X|S only, no last-gen fallback |
| PC install size | ~150 GB | ~130–160 GB predicted. See our storage breakdown |
| PC min. GPU | GTX 770 / RX 470 (2018-era minimum) | RTX 2060 / RX 6600 predicted |
| Console-to-PC gap | ~12 months (Oct 26, 2018 to Nov 5, 2019) | Unconfirmed. See our countdown |
| Map type | Rural/wilderness-focused, lower building density | Urban-dense (Leonida/Vice City), generally more GPU-intensive per square mile |
Where GTA 6 will likely demand more
- Urban density beats wilderness scale. RDR2's map is larger overall, but dense city environments, more buildings, more NPCs, more traffic, more reflective surfaces, are typically more GPU-intensive per square mile than open wilderness, even at a smaller total map size.
- No last-gen ceiling to design under. RDR2 still had to run acceptably on base PS4/Xbox One hardware from 2013. GTA 6 has no such constraint, which is exactly why we predict a noticeably higher minimum spec than RDR2 had at its PC launch.
- Graphics tech has moved on. Ray tracing and AI upscaling (DLSS/FSR) weren't mainstream expectations in 2018–2019; see our graphics tech predictions for what's different this time.
Where the comparison breaks down
RDR2 never had to account for a next-gen-only baseline. It's the wrong reference for anything below our predicted minimum. It's also a single-player-first title with a smaller multiplayer footprint than GTA Online, so it doesn't tell us much about how GTA 6's online component will scale on PC hardware. Treat RDR2 as the floor for our reasoning, not a ceiling.