A few days ago, Rockstar Games announced the postponement of GTA 6. Expected for the fall of 2025, the game was finally postponed to May 26, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Tonight, Take Two Interactive, the Rockstar parent company held its traditional tax report. During the latter, we learned that GTA 5 had just flowed to 215 million games sold, that the Red Dead saga had just reached 100 million and we were able to learn a lot about the development (and postponement) of GTA 6.
GTA 6: More than a billion dollars of development budget?
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We start with completely crazy information: the gross development of GTA 6 (game development, without marketing) should cost about a billion dollars to Take Two Interactive. It does, no more or less, than video games and the most expensive cultural product in the history of entertainment. This is an estimate on the part of IGN which based on the statements of Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Take Two which has suggested that GTA 6 would have the right to 8-9 years of development: “The total development of GTA 6 should therefore last at least eight years. GTA 6’s development cost is estimated at more than a billion dollars to date, which would make it the most expensive video game of all time ”.
If this estimate turns out to be true, chances are for this crazy investment to be profitable in less than 48 hours. Because yes, in 2013, GTA V had reported no less of a billion dollars in three days. Today, the Rockstar game has reported more than $ 10 billion Since its release on September 17, 2013. Suffice to say that there is no problem for Rockstar Games, Take Two Interactive and GTA 6.
Always on the development part, we therefore learn that the active development of the game started in 2020. Strauss Zelnick confirms that the development started in 2018 just after the release of Red Dead Redemption II. One can imagine that the preproduction started again before. So, to date, GTA 6 would be Eight years of development. Which is, again, completely crazy.
Remember, only three months ago, in February 2025, Strauss Zelnick granted an interview to IGN. In the latter, he strongly insisted that he was very confident with Rockstar Games for an exit from GTA 6 in the fall of 2025. As if by chance, three months later, things changed. Today, the game is expected for May 26, 2026.
It was during a new interview on IGN that Strauss Zelnick returned to all of this. According to the latter, this decision was made only a few weeks ago, since it seemed certain that the teams were going to need more time:
“As we get closer to the completion of a title that seeks perfection, the needs or the lack of need for continuous improvement become obvious. In this case, we thought it was possible, with a little additional time, to make sure that Rockstar Games manages to achieve its creative vision without any limits. And of course I supported this approach. ”
Thus, our colleagues from IGN naturally asked him if, this time, they were certain that the date of May 26, 2026 would be respected. And, for his part, Strauss Zelnick is once again very confident.
“I think that historically, when we set a specific date, in general, we succeed very well in respecting it”.
It would therefore seem that this time, the date of May 26, 2026 is certain. Although, as the Rockstar Mag ‘specialized media notes, in recent years, Two Rockstar Games games had the right to a specific release date and have all the same was postponed. To begin with, GTA 4 (which was scheduled for October 19, 2007 and which was postponed to April 29, 2008). Then, in a second step, Red Dead Redemption (expected for April 27, 2010 and postponed to May 21, 2010).
Besides, a few days ago, a Bloomberg report already mentioned the possibility that GTA 6 could be postponed again and that the date of May 26, 2026 was “Not at all certain”.
Let’s finish on a positive note, since during the tax balance with investors earlier in the evening, Strauss Zelnick said that GTA 6 was the most complex video game ever made to date. And that it will be a new feat from Rockstar Games:
“The ambition and complexity of Grand Theft Auto VI are larger than those of all previous Rockstar titles, and the team is ready to get another amazing entertainment experience that will exceed the expectations of players”.
GTA 6 will therefore be the most expensive cultural product in history, the most complex video game ever achieved and should exceed the expectations of players. It promises, it makes you want and it will now be necessary to wait a little more than a year to see this of ourselves. See you on May 26, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
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