Ex-Rockstar Dev Says GTA 6 Switch 2 Port “Doesn’t Make Sense” — But Your Phone Might Run It

With GTA 6 just weeks away from its November 19 launch, the platform question refuses to die: after PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, where else will Rockstar’s biggest game ever land? This week a voice from inside the studio’s past weighed in — and Nintendo fans won’t love the verdict. Jérémy Hartvick, a former Rockstar open-world designer who worked on GTA 6 from 2017 to 2020, told YouTube channel Kiwi Talkz that a Nintendo Switch 2 port “doesn’t make sense”. But in a twist few saw coming, he argued a smartphone version is technically possible.

What Hartvick actually said

Hartvick was speaking in a members-only interview with Kiwi Talkz (transcription via Dexerto), when host Reece Reilly put the big question to him: will Rockstar port GTA 6 to the Switch 2? His answer wasn’t a flat denial — it was a business argument.

“I don’t believe it even makes sense, because I’m not sure the audience for GTA 6 is so much the audience for the Switch. If you’re a GTA fan, you would probably buy a console on which GTA will come out.”

He then sharpened the point into the soundbite that has been doing the rounds across gaming media this week:

“Does it make sense for you to go out of your way to probably deliver a subpar experience, because it does not run exactly the same, when you know anyone will buy a PS5 to get your game? No.”

The key word there is probably. Hartvick didn’t claim a port is impossible — he argued Rockstar wouldn’t see the point of spending the engineering effort when the brand is strong enough that fans will simply buy whatever hardware the game launches on.

The audience argument — and why it’s debatable

Hartvick’s first objection is about demographics: GTA fans and Nintendo fans, in his view, are largely different crowds. “I’m not sure the audience for GTA 6 is so much the audience for the Switch,” he said, adding that a true GTA fan would “probably buy a console on which GTA will come out.”

That argument isn’t quite as airtight as it sounds. A good portion of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition‘s sales are estimated to have come from the original Switch, which suggests there genuinely is a GTA audience on Nintendo hardware. And the Switch 2 has a far larger installed base to draw from than Nintendo’s previous consoles had at this point in their lives.

But Hartvick’s underlying logic is about Rockstar’s leverage: the studio knows its games are system-sellers. When people will buy a PS5 purely for GTA 6 — and history strongly suggests they will — the commercial incentive to optimise for weaker hardware shrinks dramatically.

The real obstacle: Leonida’s density

The second half of Hartvick’s case is technical, and it’s the harder one to dismiss. GTA 6’s state of Leonida is being built as Rockstar’s densest, most simulation-heavy world yet — and that simulation load lands hardest on the CPU. As several outlets noted this week, the Switch 2’s relatively modest processor would struggle with the crowd density, traffic systems and emergent NPC behaviour that the game is built around.

Bringing the game to Nintendo’s hardware wouldn’t be a simple settings tweak; it would require what Hartvick described as a “subpar experience” — scaled-back population density, more pop-in, and degraded visuals across the board. That’s exactly the kind of compromise Rockstar has a reputation for refusing to ship.

It’s worth remembering the precedent. When Rockstar brought Red Dead Redemption to the Switch 2 last December, it was porting a 2018 game — a very different job from squeezing a 2026 open-world juggernaut onto a handheld chipset.

The twist: your phone could run it

Here’s where the interview took an unexpected turn. While Hartvick poured cold water on a native Switch 2 port, he went out of his way to say that modern smartphones are technically capable of running GTA 6.

“If they put their mind to it, you could be playing GTA 6 on your phone because that technology exists and it has been proven.”

It’s a striking claim, but it’s not pure fantasy. Flagship phone chips have made enormous strides in sustained graphics performance, and Apple and Android flagships are already hosting native ports of demanding AAA titles like Death Stranding and Resident Evil Village. Qualcomm has been pushing hard on PC-game emulation drivers for Android, and cloud streaming — running the game on a server and beaming it to the device — is the even more realistic near-term path.

Rockstar also has an existing mobile relationship: its partnership with Netflix already distributes several classic GTA titles on phones. That said, Hartvick was careful to frame this as technical feasibility, not a leak. He has no insider knowledge of an actual mobile project, and Rockstar has said nothing about a phone version.

What this means

Hartvick worked on GTA 6 for three years and knows how ambitious the project is — but he’s also an ex-employee from 2020, not a current insider. His comments are informed opinion, not a leak of Rockstar’s plans. Here’s the honest takeaway:

• A native Switch 2 port is now harder to believe in — not because it’s technically impossible, but because someone who built open worlds at Rockstar can’t see the business case for shipping a compromised version.
• Streaming is the likeliest workaround — Hartvick himself said he doesn’t think the idea is “totally ludicrous”, and cloud streaming could bring the full game to Switch 2 without the downgrades.
• Nothing is confirmed either way — Rockstar hasn’t announced a Switch 2 version, a PC version, or a mobile version. A rumoured Switch 2 port test has been circulating for months, and there’s even a public bet between Kiwi Talkz and one of his sources over whether a day-one Switch 2 version gets announced. Until Rockstar talks, it’s all speculation.

Where GTA 6 stands on every platform right now

• PS5 and Xbox Series X|S: Confirmed, launching November 19, 2026. Digital pre-load opens November 12.
• PC: Widely expected to follow, in line with Rockstar’s usual delayed-PC pattern — but no official date exists.
• Nintendo Switch 2: Unconfirmed. Rumours of a port test have circulated for months; a former Rockstar dev now doubts a native version “makes sense”.
• Smartphone: Not confirmed or denied. Ex-dev says the hardware could handle it — but that’s technical speculation, not a roadmap.

The bottom line: if you’re holding out for GTA 6 on Nintendo’s hardware, don’t cancel your console fund just yet. The PS5 and Xbox Series X remain the only confirmed way to visit Leonida on November 19 — and according to someone who helped build it, that’s exactly how Rockstar likes it.

Sources

• Kiwi Talkz – “GTA 6 Dev Speaks About A Switch 2 Port” (YouTube interview, members-only)
• Notebookcheck – “Ex-Rockstar dev doubts GTA 6 Switch 2 release, with PS5 better match for game”
• Wccftech – “GTA 6 Could Run On Your Phone, Says Ex-Rockstar Dev, But Dismisses A Switch 2 Port As Pointless”
• GamingBolt – “GTA 6 on Nintendo Switch 2 Doesn’t Make Sense, per Former Rockstar Designer”
• ResetEra – community discussion of the Hartvick interview