GTA 6 arrives more than 13 years after GTA 5, which makes it one of the longest gaps between sequels in gaming. How long has GTA 6 been in development, how much did it cost to make, and why is it taking so long? Here is what Rockstar has confirmed, what credible reports say, and what to make of questions like “how much has GTA 6 made so far” and “when is GTA 7 coming out”.
How long has GTA 6 been in development?
Rockstar has never given an official start date. Pre-production on the next Grand Theft Auto is widely reported to have begun around 2014, soon after GTA 5’s 2013 launch, with full production ramping up after Red Dead Redemption 2 shipped in October 2018. Rockstar publicly confirmed the game was in active development on February 4, 2022, released the first trailer on December 5, 2023, and a second trailer in May 2025. By its November 19, 2026 release, GTA 6 will have been in full production for roughly eight years and in some form of development for over a decade.
Why is GTA 6 taking so long?
- Scale: the map is roughly twice the size of GTA 5’s, with far more detail, interiors and people.
- Rockstar’s process: the studio builds its games with hundreds of developers across several studios and polishes for years; RDR2 also took around eight years.
- New technology: GTA 6 is built for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S only, using a heavily upgraded RAGE engine.
- GTA Online’s success: GTA 5’s online mode made so much money that Rockstar had little pressure to rush a sequel.
- The 2020 pandemic and a shift to remote work slowed development across the industry.
- A huge 2022 leak of development footage forced extra security and disrupted the team.
- Polish: both delays (to May 2026 and then November 2026) were explained as extra time to polish the game.
How much did GTA 6 cost to make?
Rockstar and Take-Two have never published the budget. Analyst estimates and media reports range from around $1 billion to $2 billion including development and marketing, which would make it the most expensive video game ever made. For comparison, GTA 5 reportedly cost about $265 million to make and market in 2013, and Red Dead Redemption 2 is estimated at several hundred million. The high cost comes mostly from staff: Rockstar employs thousands of people across its studios, and they have worked on GTA 6 for most of a decade.
How much has GTA 6 made so far?
GTA 6 has not launched yet, so it has not made money from sales in the usual sense. Pre-orders opened on June 25, 2026, but Take-Two does not publish pre-order revenue. Analysts expect GTA 6 to earn several billion dollars in its first year; GTA 5 earned $1 billion in its first three days. Take-Two will report early sales in its first earnings release after launch, which we will add here.
When is GTA 7 coming out?
There is no GTA 7. Rockstar has not announced it, and the studio will be focused on GTA 6 and its online mode for years after November 2026. If history repeats, expect a very long wait: the gaps between mainline Grand Theft Auto games have grown each generation.
| Game | Release | Gap from previous |
|---|---|---|
| GTA III | 2001 | – |
| GTA: Vice City | 2002 | 1 year |
| GTA: San Andreas | 2004 | 2 years |
| GTA IV | 2008 | 4 years |
| GTA V | 2013 | 5 years |
| GTA VI | 2026 | 13 years |
A realistic guess for GTA 7 is the mid-2030s at the earliest, and only if Rockstar does not spend a decade supporting GTA 6 Online the way it did with GTA Online. Anyone claiming a GTA 7 release date in 2026 is speculating.
The GTA 6 timeline
- 2013: GTA 5 launches; early planning for the next GTA reportedly begins.
- 2018: Red Dead Redemption 2 launches; full production on GTA 6 ramps up.
- February 4, 2022: Rockstar confirms development of the next Grand Theft Auto.
- September 2022: a hacker leaks around 90 videos of early GTA 6 footage.
- December 5, 2023: Trailer 1 is released (a day early after a leak) and breaks YouTube view records; release set for 2025.
- May 2, 2025: first delay, to May 26, 2026.
- May 6, 2025: Trailer 2 introduces Jason and more of Leonida.
- November 6, 2025: second delay, to November 19, 2026.
- June 25, 2026: pre-orders open at $79.99.
- November 12, 2026: pre-load begins.
- November 19, 2026: launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Who is making GTA 6?
GTA 6 is developed by Rockstar Games, led by Rockstar North in Edinburgh with Rockstar’s studios in San Diego, Toronto, Leeds, Lincoln, New England, India and others contributing. Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser, who co-wrote GTA 3 through 5, left in 2020, so GTA 6 is the first mainline GTA without him; Sam Houser remains Rockstar’s president. Take-Two Interactive, led by CEO Strauss Zelnick, is the publisher.
FAQ
How long has GTA 6 been in development?
In full production since about 2018, with early work reported as far back as 2014.
How much did it cost to make GTA 6?
Not disclosed. Reports estimate $1-2 billion including marketing.
Is GTA 6 the most expensive game ever?
Very likely, if the estimates are accurate, but Take-Two has not confirmed a figure.
Why did GTA 6 get delayed twice?
Rockstar said it needed more time to polish the game to the standard players expect.
See also GTA 6 release date and how much money GTA 5 made.
Why GTA budgets are so large
Modern open-world games are expensive because of their scale. Rockstar builds huge, detailed cities by hand, records thousands of lines of dialogue and motion-capture performances, licenses hundreds of songs for radio stations, and tests the game across several platforms. It also employs thousands of developers across studios in Edinburgh, New York, San Diego, Leeds, Lincoln, Toronto, India and elsewhere. On top of development, marketing a launch of this size costs hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide. Analysts estimate that GTA 6’s combined budget is far above GTA 5’s reported $265 million, although Rockstar and Take-Two have never published an official figure.
What the delays mean for players
Rockstar delayed GTA 6 twice, moving it from 2025 to 2026, saying it needed more time to deliver the quality fans expect. Long development usually shows in polish: Red Dead Redemption 2 took around eight years and is still praised for its detail. The risk for players is mostly impatience rather than quality. Take-Two’s earnings reports have repeatedly confirmed the November 19, 2026 date, so another delay looks less likely than earlier rumors suggested. See the GTA 6 release date guide.
Will GTA 6 be the best-selling game ever?
Many analysts expect GTA 6 to break launch sales records, given that GTA 5 sold more than 220 million copies over its lifetime. Whether it eventually beats Minecraft or GTA 5 itself depends on how long it sells and whether it reaches more platforms, such as PC, later on.
How GTA 6 compares with other expensive games
Few games have published budgets, but reported figures help put GTA 6 in context. Star Citizen has raised more than $800 million over more than a decade of crowdfunded development, and big franchises such as Call of Duty and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 reportedly cost $300 million or more each. GTA 6 is widely believed to sit at the top of this list, which is why Take-Two treats its launch as the most important event in the company’s history. The good news for players is that Rockstar’s previous expensive projects, GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, both delivered huge, polished worlds that people are still playing years later.
Stay updated
Rockstar shares official GTA news on the Rockstar Newswire and its social accounts first. We update this page whenever Rockstar or Take-Two confirms new details, so bookmark it and check back after big announcements, trailers or earnings calls. You can also follow every GTA guide from our GTA hub.