GTA 6 launch: the gaming TVs and soundbars What Hi-Fi? recommends

Why the timing matters

GTA 6 is due to arrive next week, and according to What Hi-Fi? it is one of the biggest game releases of the decade. The publication has published a buying guide aimed at players who want to experience the game on suitable home cinema equipment.

The guide, written by staff writer Daniel Furn, collects the site's recommended TVs, soundbars, consoles and wired headphones. Several of the picks are winners from the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2026, where Product of the Year winners were recently announced.

It is worth noting that this is a shopping recommendation list from one publisher, not an independent test of GTA 6 itself. The game's performance on any given screen has not been assessed in the guide.

The TVs on the list

What Hi-Fi? says the search for a GTA 6 television should start with the LG C6, its 2026 Award winner for best gaming TV. The set has four HDMI 2.1 ports supporting 4K/120Hz, VRR (variable refresh rate, which keeps gameplay smooth), ALLM (auto low latency mode) and Dolby Vision gaming. PC players can push refresh rates to 4K/165Hz, and the site describes the picture as bright and rich.

For readers with a larger budget, the guide recommends the Samsung S99H, which won TV Product of the Year. It also has four HDMI 2.1 sockets with VRR, ALLM and HDR10+ Gaming, refresh rates up to 4K/165Hz, and what the publisher calls a contrast-rich picture with very bright highlights.

Budget buyers are pointed towards the TCL P8L, which supports VRR, ALLM and Dolby Vision and is said to offer a balanced picture for its price. The previous-generation LG C5 42-inch is also suggested as a cheaper option, since it has been superseded by the C6 but still offers four HDMI 2.1 ports running up to 4K/144Hz with VRR.

Soundbars and headphones

On the audio side, the Samsung HW-Q990H has won What Hi-Fi?'s soundbar Product of the Year Award. The site says it delivers detailed, full-bodied cinematic sound and is particularly good at placing spatial effects, so sounds such as sirens and gunshots appear around the room.

A cheaper alternative is the Hisense AX5125H, described as one of the best-value Dolby Atmos systems available. For just over £200, buyers get a full package with a subwoofer and rear speakers supporting Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks.

The Sony Bravia Theatre Trio takes a different approach by splitting the sound between three separate speakers rather than a single bar. According to the guide, this produces a larger sense of scale while staying cohesive, and there is currently £50 off at checkout.

For late-night sessions, the guide suggests the Austrian Audio HiX15 wired headphones, which plug directly into a controller. Those with more to spend are pointed to the Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X, the site's wired headphones Product of the Year winner.

Consoles for the game

GTA 6 is releasing on two consoles, and the guide covers both. The PS5 is praised for its DualSense controller with haptic feedback, which the site says will make the game more immersive, along with a large library that includes PS4 titles. What Hi-Fi? recommends choosing a model with a disc drive for 4K Blu-ray playback, while noting the console does not support Dolby Vision.

The Xbox Series X also has a large library, with backwards compatibility going back to the original Xbox, plus access to the Game Pass subscription service. A disc drive model is again suggested for 4K Blu-ray support.

What this means for buyers

The guide is essentially a curated shopping list timed to the GTA 6 launch, drawing on the publisher's recent Awards results. Readers considering a purchase should treat the descriptions as the publisher's opinions from its own testing programme, not as guarantees about how the game will look or sound on any particular device.

The key technical point for gamers is consistent across the TV picks: four HDMI 2.1 ports with high refresh rates and VRR support. Anyone buying a new screen for the launch may want to check those specifications, along with console availability and prices, before the release date.