- Rockstar Games is under fire for locking GTA 6 extended look behind a Netflix paywall.
- This exclusivity will remain for 6 hours, then the footage will be released on YouTube and Rockstar’s website.
- Gamers are calling Rockstar scummy, cheap, and greedy for putting the deep dive behind a subscription.
GTA 6 has faced its fair share of backlash and controversy ever since its first reveal, from major leaks to launching boxed edition pre-orders without discs. Now Rockstar is facing a new wave of retaliation for another one of its bold decisions.
The studio announced an extended look into GTA 6 for August 27, which was met with a lot of excitement. However, that anticipation turned into anger after Rockstar confirmed the deep dive would be locked behind a Netflix paywall.
In other words, you will need a Netflix subscription to even watch this extended look until it arrives on other platforms.
Why it matters: The GTA 6 extended look being locked behind a Netflix subscription could entice other gaming companies to aim for similar timed-exclusivity partnerships in the future.
Alongside the deep dive details, Rockstar confirmed that the footage will first land on Netflix at 3 p.m. ET, then it will be available on YouTube and the studio’s official GTA 6 site after six hours at 9 p.m. ET.
Fans have dubbed this move scummy, cheap, and greedy, as not many gamers are willing to subscribe to Netflix just to watch a few minutes of GTA 6 content.
There are also concerns that Netflix servers would not be able to handle the influx of millions of users flooding the service when the deep dive comes out.
It would crash the site and leave even subscribers unable to enjoy the GTA 6 content on time. The service is already known for crashing under pressure in the past.
Additionally, Netflix’s DRM could prevent users from screenshotting and sharing the new GTA 6 extended look until the exclusivity period passes. The company could also copyright-strike the shared content online even if someone uploads it in the first place.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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