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Will Grand Theft Auto be coming to Netflix?

There's early evidence and suggestion that Netflix is in discussions with developer Rockstar to secure GTA for their gaming platform

Will Grand Theft Auto be coming to Netflix?

Netflix Games, the gaming side of the streaming service, may soon boast Grand Theft Auto games amongst its offering. That’s if a deal between Netflix and Rockstar, being considered by Netflix (via Gamedeveloper) comes to fruition.

Having one of gaming’s biggest series on their platform would certainly be a good look for Netflix and - if a deal can be struck - given the existence of "the original trilogy” (Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City & San Andreas) in premium mobile form already, those games appearing on Netflix should be a simple matter of signing a deal.

Grove Street Games - the developers behind the ports - were also behind the disastrously received Definitive Edition remasters of this trilogy which reworked textures and delivered a 'new look' that many found inferior to the original releases. It's therefore likely that if a game were to appear on Netflix’s games service that it would be one of the original ports, or a bespoke remake entirely. It wouldn't be out of the question for Netflix either internally or via a third-party developer to - with Rockstar's co-operation - devise their own, perhaps improved 'ultimate' editions as platform exclusives.

While GTA 3, Vice City, San Andreas would be welcome, the possibility of a mobile port for Grand Theft Auto V would be a far superior draw. The game has never appeared on mobile and - incredibly - is now ten years old during which the technology to run locally or stream such a game is now a reality.

Deal or no deal?

The most obvious stumbling block would be the grip that Rockstar has on its IP and the value they place upon it. One of the by-products of the recent Activision Blizzard deal was that documents appertaining to Microsoft's cloud gaming buinsess were made public, revealing the multi-millions that Microsoft paid in order to have GTA V on their Game Pass service. It seems certain that Rockstar would seek a similar deal - especially if it was GTA V that was on Netflix's hitlist. 


Staff Writer

Iwan is a Cardiff-based freelance writer, who joined the Pocket Gamer Biz site fresh-faced from University before moving to the Pocketgamer.com editorial team in November of 2023.