Multiple leak-informed reports support our long-held suspicions that Grand Theft Auto 6 (stylised as both GTA 6 or GTA VI) will go down in history as the most expensive video game ever developed.
With an expansive open world like no other, cinematic graphics, and what promises to be a compelling Bonnie & Clyde-style storyline, the hotly anticipated titleโs budget (which is believed to factor in marketing) has apparently ballooned from early estimates of US$1 billion to approximately US$2 billion.
So donโt be surprised if youโre paying an even hundo for a copy at launch.
For context, Dubaiโs Burj Khalifa only ran the bill up to US$1.5 billion. Even more amusingly, construction on the worldโs tallest skyscraper was completed in less than half the time itโs taken GTA VI to release (six years versus 12 years).
And for a less ridiculous reference, hereโs what every other franchise instalment cost to develop (unadjusted for inflation):
- GTA (1997) โ US$1-2 million
- GTA 2 (1999) โ US$3-4 million
- GTA 3 (2001) โ US$5 million
- GTA Vice City (2002) โ US$5 million
- GTA San Andreas (2004) โ US$10 million
- GTA 4 (2008) โ US$100 million
- GTA 5 (2013) โ US$250 million
Back in 2023, the UK Competition & Markets Authorityโs decision to block the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger yielded some rather fascinating insights about the economics of publishing AAA video game franchises.
The inquiry observed that five years prior, your standard AAA console/PC releases had development budgets ranging from US$50 million to US$150 million. But these days, titles greenlit for release in 2024-2025 are being approved for development budgets closer to US$200 million or higher.
Call of Duty, for example, routinely requires development budgets exceeding US$300 million, while Grand Theft Auto 6 and โother future tent-polesโ are expected to cruise beyond US$250 million with relative ease.
Itโs to the point that Insomniacโs Spider-Man 2 dwarfed the production budget of Spider-Man: No Way Home starring Tom Holland, with a staggering US$300 million against the MCU blockbusterโs US$200 million.
One large studio, whose identity has been deliberately omitted from the report, even claimed a major franchiseโs development can cost up to US$660 million for the actual product and US$550 million for marketing. Meaning all up, youโre looking at a billion-dollar commitment.
Considering the sheer cultural magnitude of every Grand Theft Autoโs arrival, a staggeringly expansive map, and based on precedents set by past GTA games, the hefty marketing investment aheadโฆ you can see how Grand Theft Auto 6 could easily become historyโs most expensive video game.
Expenditure of this calibre isnโt uncharacteristic for Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive Software, either. Nor is it a considerable risk.
GTA 5 managed to earn over US$800 million on launch day alone and continues to rake it in through next-gen reissues, as well as GTA Online, a decade after release. In 2023, Take-Two accountants indicated that Grand Theft Auto 5 had generated nearly US$7.7 billion. DFC Intelligence projects the sequel to this money monster will clear $3.2 billion in the first year alone.
Grand Theft Auto 6 currently has a scheduled release date of May 26th, 2026.
Grand Theft Auto 6 Synopsis
Jason Duvall and Lucia Camino have always known the deck is stacked against them. But when an easy score goes wrong, they find themselves on the darkest side of the sunniest place in America, in the middle of a criminal conspiracy stretching across the state of Leonida โ forced to rely on each other more than ever if they want to make it out alive.
