GTA 6's 2 Billion Dollar Budget Rumor Explained

Grand Theft Auto 6 is easily one of the most anticipated games of all time, and the hype is only being prolonged by its recent delay. Naturally, this level of excitement has caused a flurry of rumors to crop up around GTA 6, including one extraordinary bit of hearsay around the game's budget.

Recently, it was announced that the next Grand Theft Auto game is being kicked back to 2026—news that will inevitably fuel more 'before GTA VI' memes. With a 12-year gap between the upcoming title and its predecessor (GTA V), it's no wonder that jokes about the fandom's decade-plus wait have dominated the internet since 2024, especially considering how the IP is not only beyond successful, but synonymous with the gaming medium itself. Fortunately, the new GTA 6 trailer has softened the blow for many; the surprise trailer drop has been received well, even breaking a YouTube record by reaching a million likes in just 40 minutes.

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By Kyle Knight

GTA 6's Rumored 2 Billion Dollar Budget Explained

However, fans still have very little to go on about the game's exact contents, even with the latest GTA 6 trailer. Alongside videos breaking down every nook and cranny of trailers, a veritable smorgasbord of rumors and leaks have come out regarding everything from game size to price. The deluge of information is tough to parse, but one oft-repeated tidbit often sticks out—that being an alleged 1-2 billion dollar budget. Though developers and publishers are often cagey with exact budgets, and many have asserted that modern game budgets are more out of control than is realized, there's no question that this figure (if true) would eclipse anything the industry's seen before. While it's important to approach any such rumor with skepticism, it's worth looking into if there's any validity to these claims.

The Origins Of GTA 6's Budget Rumors Are Hard To Pin

Rumors about GTA 6 having such a large budget began around the time of the 2022 Rockstar leaks, but specifics aren't easy to find. Back in 2022, X user @vxunderground posted alleged forum screenshots of the hacker behind the aforementioned leaks, showing a discussion wherein the hacker mentions finding out that Rockstar has spent $2 billion on GTA 6.

However, these screenshots show nothing concrete, and that has remained the case for this rumor. Other investigations into the matter have focused purely on looking into likelihood. Some have argued that, given developer salaries, the assumed number of developers working on the game, and a decade of development, the cost could easily reach 2 billion (especially when marketing is considered). This doesn't tell the whole story, though, as it's unlikely that the development of GTA 6 began right after its predecessor, considering that Grand Theft Auto 5 development continued post-release, not to mention the development of Red Dead Redemption 2 taking place at this time. With how little information there is now, it'd be an uphill battle to assume a figure, not least one of such magnitude.

A 2 Billion Dollar Budget Would Be Entirely Unprecedented

The problem with this rumor is its sheer lack of precedent in the industry. Major AAA games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Cyberpunk have pushed the peak of game budgets into the $300-500 million range (factoring in both development and marketing). A jump to $2 billion would eclipse these budgets, and would easily dwarf the biggest film and TV budgets—all for a game of unconfirmed size.

The rumored price of GTA 6 is another factor, with many ready to accept that the title will cost $100 and more at base, even with no concrete backing. If Rockstar truly had to make back $2 billion, a cosmic leap in price would make sense, but game budgets aren't so tied to game prices; a good example is the new standardization of $70 games, which is being applied to titles regardless of budget (or quantity of microtransactions).

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