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Grand Theft Auto 6 Budget Estimated to Be Over $1 Billion, Take Two CEO Says 'It Was Expensive'

Grand Theft Auto 6 Budget Estimated to Be Over $1 Billion, Take-Two CEO Says 'It Was Expensive'

GTA 6 is expected to be the biggest entertainment launch in history.

Written by Manas Mitul | Updated: 7 May 2026 17:37 IST

Grand Theft Auto 6 Budget Estimated to Be Over $1 Billion, Take-Two CEO Says 'It Was Expensive'

Photo Credit: Rockstar Games

Grand Theft Auto 6 will launch on PS5 and Xbox Series S/X

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Highlights

Rockstar Games has not revealed the GTA 6's price
Grand Theft Auto 6 is expected to set sales records at launch
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said GTA 6 was "expensive"

Grand Theft Auto 6 is one of the most anticipated video games in history. Rockstar Games' open-world crime title is also believed to be one of the most expensive game ever made. While Rockstar parent Take-Two has not disclosed GTA 6's budget, the company is believed to have spent up to $1.5 billion on developing the game, according to latest estimates from industry analysts.

The astronomical figure, quoted in a new Business Insider interview with Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick, would place GTA 6 among the costliest video game productions of all time.

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When asked how much Take-Two had spent on making GTA 6, Zelnick declined to give a specific answer, but said “it was expensive.” Analysts, however, told the publication that the game's budget was likely in the range of $1 billion to $1.5 billion.

'Consumers Pay for the Value You Bring to Them': Take-Two on GTA 6 Price

Rising Development Costs

That figure isn't surprising. Grand Theft Auto 6 has been in development for over eight years at Rockstar and will be at the cutting edge of graphical fidelity and immersion. Several recent triple-A releases have been confirmed to have budgets in hundreds of millions. GTA 6 is likely to be much more expensive than the average triple-A blockbuster.

In 2023, court documents from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) trial over Microsoft's acquisition of Activision-Blizzard revealed that Sony had spent north of $200 million on first-party games like The Last of Us Part II and Horizon Forbidden West.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Zelnick admitted that development costs had gone up and AI had not helped cut productions costs. “And we really do aim to deliver the highest quality entertainment on Earth. And that is costly,” Zelnick told the publication.

GTA 6 Could Generate Over $1 Billion From Pre-Orders Alone, Analysts Say

But Take-Two is also expecting a healthy return on investment. GTA 6 is widely expected to be the biggest entertainment launch in history. Last year, analysts estimated that the game would likely collect over $1 billion from pre-orders alone. GTA 6's predecessor, GTA 5, made $1 billion in three days of launch. Grand Theft Auto 6 is also expected to generate $3.2 billion in revenue in the first 12 months of its release.

It's also worth noting that the game is initially only launching on PS5 and Xbox Series S/X. A PC version will likely follow next year and rake in more sales.

Rockstar and Take-Two have not yet confirmed the price of GTA 6, but some expect the game to be priced above the $70 standard for current-gen consoles. Last month, Zelnick addressed the concerns around the game's price and said that consumers would pay for the value offered.

Why Is GTA 6 Not Launching on PC Alongside Consoles? Take-Two CEO Explains

The Take-Two boss said that Rockstar was focussed on making the “most spectacular piece of entertainment on Earth.” — “If we do that, and if we're of service to our customers, then the upside will take care of itself,” Zelnick added.

Grand Theft Auto 6 is set to launch on PS5 and Xbox Series S/X on November 19, 2026.

Grand Theft Auto VI

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Genre Action-Adventure

Platform PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox Series S/X

Modes Single-player, Multiplayer

Series Grand Theft Auto

More Rockstar Games Games

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Further reading: GTA 6, Grand Theft Auto 6, Rockstar Games, Take Two, Strauss Zelnick

Manas Mitul

Email Manas Mitul

In his time as a journalist, Manas Mitul has written on a wide spectrum of beats including politics, culture and sports. He enjoys reading, walking around in museums and rewatching films. Talk to Manas about football and tennis, but maybe don’t bring up his video game backlog. More