Kai Cenat is going back to where it all started. With Grand Theft Auto VI just weeks away, the record-setting streamer says he will play the series’ modern classics back to back, beginning Nov. 5, as a nonstop warm-up for the biggest game launch of the year.
The plan: five games, in order
Cenat first laid out the lineup during a Just Chatting stream in late October, reading the list to his chat: GTA III, Vice City, San Andreas, GTA IV and GTA V. The idea is simple and ambitious. Rather than jumping straight into the new game, he wants to replay the 3D-era titles in release order, so his audience gets a guided tour of how Rockstar’s open-world series grew over more than two decades.
On Monday night, posts circulating on X from accounts including @FearedBuck and @scubaryan_ relayed his announcement that the run kicks off Nov. 5. Earlier coverage had said no dates were locked in, so the start date comes from Cenat’s own announcement as shared on social media rather than from an official schedule.
Why the timing lines up with GTA 6
Grand Theft Auto VI is scheduled to launch Nov. 19, 2026, on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with no PC date confirmed yet. That leaves roughly two weeks between the start of the marathon and the release. Five full games is a lot of ground to cover in that window, which is part of the appeal: viewers get to watch whether he can make it through Liberty City, Vice City, San Andreas, Liberty City again and Los Santos before the new game arrives.
Cenat has also said he plans to stream GTA 6 itself until he hits 100% completion, according to win.gg. If he follows through, the marathon becomes the opening act of a much longer GTA stretch on his channel.
A personal connection to Vice City
Part of the excitement is nostalgia. As NDTV reported, Cenat told viewers, “My first-ever GTA was Vice City, bro,” and promised the streams would be “action-packed.” For many in his audience, the older games are titles they have only seen in clips, so watching a major creator play them live is a new experience rather than a rerun.
Not every fan loves the list
The lineup did spark some debate. According to NDTV, some fans pointed out that the handheld spin-offs Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories were left out, along with earlier top-down entries. Others argued that sticking to the five main 3D-era games keeps the marathon manageable before Nov. 19. Either way, the discussion has kept the announcement trending, which tends to be good news for a streamer about to go live for days.
Why it matters
Cenat has built a reputation for long, event-style broadcasts, and big streamers have become one of the main ways new audiences discover games. A creator of his size replaying the back catalog right before launch could send a fresh wave of viewers to the older titles and add even more attention to a release already expected to be one of the largest in entertainment history. It also shows how game launches now play out as much on Twitch and YouTube as they do in stores.
What’s next
If the plan holds, the marathon starts Nov. 5 with GTA III and works forward through GTA V, with GTA 6 following on Nov. 19. Details such as exact stream hours, any guests, or whether he will speed through story missions have not been confirmed, so expect updates on his channels as the start date gets closer. We will keep an eye on how far he gets before launch day.
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