Grand Theft Auto 5 Streaming Only On PS Now, At Least For Now

Sony recently made big moves to make its long-running PlayStation Now service more competitive against services like Xbox Game Pass, and that includes making deals with publishers. Rockstar will reportedly only allow Sony to stream Grand Theft Auto 5, at least for the time being.

Wired reports that while Rockstar hasn’t struck a formal exclusivity arrangement with Sony, SIE CEO Jim Ryan says the game will only stream on PS Now “to the best of my knowledge.” The quasi-exclusivity reportedly stems partly from Take-Two being reluctant to launch its own subscription service like EA and Ubisoft. Paired with a recent big update to GTA Online, Rockstar was up for negotiating.

“I’d prefer not to disclose the terms, but let’s say it’s a good deal for Rockstar,” said Ryan.

Whatever the deal, it appears targeted only at streaming services. That potentially cuts out impending competitors like Google Stadia, which launches next month, and Microsoft’s xCloud, which is beginning public testing this month. But since it’s not officially an exclusive, Rockstar could potentially still take it elsewhere.

Rockstar was officially confirmed as a partner for Google Stadia, but without any announced games. It was one of only three developers, alongside EA and Capcom, that were included in a footnote saying that they would “announce content at their discretion.” Rockstar has not announced any Stadia games or if they’ll be available at launch, but the revelation that PS Now may be the sole streaming platform for GTA 5 appears to narrow down the list of possibilities.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/grand-theft-auto-5-streaming-only-on-ps-now-at-lea/1100-6470299/