GTA 6 Online will not be playable for millions of players

This article was updated by Andrea Trama on 19 March 2026 and mentions the penalties imposed on online shops and services that do not comply with the new age verification codes. It was first published on March 11.

Grand Theft Auto 6 will be affected by Australia's new age verification law, meaning millions of players will not be able to access the new game's online multiplayer mode. Grand Theft Auto 6 is potentially the most anticipated new game release of all time and will make a huge impact when it comes out later this year.

Although it was first officially announced years ago, Rockstar Games has been mostly silent about it Grand Theft Auto 6 and all that it brings to the table. Only two to date Grand Theft Auto 6 Rockstar released trailers and both focused solely on the single player experience. The GTA 6 The single-player campaign will feature dual protagonists in the form of Lucia Caminos and Jason Duval, who will find themselves traversing the criminal underworld of Vice City and the State of Leonidas (the so-called GTA space equivalent of Florida).

Grand Theft Auto 6 should drop the GTA 5 feature

Grand Theft Auto 5 never got the ever-popular console feature, but Rockstar should do it again with Grand Theft Auto 6.

GTA 6 will be affected by Australia's New Age authentication rules

Due to the dizzying success of Fr GTA Onlinethis is a guarantee that Grand Theft Auto 6 it will have online multiplayer, though the mode hasn't been revealed yet. It is possible that GTA 6 online multiplayer will be added at some point after the single-player game launches, as we've seen with GTA 5but that has yet to be clarified. Whenever GTA 6 online is out, we know that people in Australia will have a much harder time accessing it than those elsewhere in the world. Australia's new age verification rules already affect current ones GTA Onlineand so they will undoubtedly be a factor for GTA 6is also online. The age verification requirement means that anyone under the age of 18 will not be able to play the game online. Likewise, those who are 18+ but unable or unwilling to verify their age in the region will also be locked out of the game. Grand Theft Auto 6online multiplayer mode.

GTA 6's single player mode is not expected to be affected by age verification requirements.

PC gamers around the world will also miss out initially

Age verification requirements for various things are slowly becoming a reality around the world, so it's entirely possible that even players outside of Australia will struggle to play GTA 6 online. However, there are reasons beyond age verification that millions of players will not be able to play GTA 6online multiplayer mode. When Grand Theft Auto 6 launches on November 19th, it will only do so on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. This is extremely disappointing for PC gamers, but many assumed it would be the case anyway, given Rockstar's track record in releasing games on PC.

It's worth noting that with Australia's new age verification codes, online service providers and stores can be fined up to $US49.5 million (AUD) if they don't comply. It's unlikely to impact Rockstar with GTA 6, but it could make online play and even online presence much more limited for millions of players.

Grand Theft Auto 6The PC port hasn't been officially announced yet, so it's hard to say when exactly it will come to the platform. Grand Theft Auto 5 it didn't come to PC until two years after it was first released on PS3 and Xbox 360, and it took over a year. Red Dead Redemption 2 make a jump It is entirely possible that PC gamers will be able to play GTA 6 in 2027, but it's also entirely within the realm of possibility that a PC port won't come until 2028 or later.

Whenever GTA 6 comes to PC, it will mean that its online multiplayer will suddenly be accessible to millions of other players. However, unless some laws change, the age verification requirements will still be in effect, so GTA 6's online multiplayer completely inaccessible to millions or otherwise more difficult to access. It will be interesting to see what impact these new laws will have not only on GTA 6but more M-rated online video game releases in the coming years.