Monday, March 30th 2026
Estimates Say GTA VI May Have Cost $2.1-$3 bn in Salaries Alone
It's no secret that the development of GTA VI has been a mammoth undertaking, but the exact figures have been a bit hazy, with previous estimates from early 2026 putting the game's total budget at around $2 billion. Now, thanks to an investigation by an internet sleuth, u/Due-Vanilla-8294 on Reddit, it seems as though Rockstar may have exceeded the $3 billion mark, with speculation putting the game's budget as high as $5 billion.
These estimations were based on recent financial filings by Rockstar and its parent company, Take-Two, wherein it was revealed that Rockstar had spent as much as $2.1 billion on salaries alone at its Rockstar North location since GTA VI went into full-scale production in 2019. Given that this is only one location's figures and that Rockstar had already started work on GTA VI long before it went into full-scale production, it has been speculated that, by the time it launches, Rockstar may have spent as much as $5 billion on GTA VI. So far, it seems as though GTA VI's high budget may have been worth it, with the game's launch trailer racking up 275 million views since it launched in 2024. GTA VI is also expected to launch at a substantial price premium, with previous rumors floating a $90+ MSRP.
Source:
u/Due-Vanilla-8294 on Reddit
These estimations were based on recent financial filings by Rockstar and its parent company, Take-Two, wherein it was revealed that Rockstar had spent as much as $2.1 billion on salaries alone at its Rockstar North location since GTA VI went into full-scale production in 2019. Given that this is only one location's figures and that Rockstar had already started work on GTA VI long before it went into full-scale production, it has been speculated that, by the time it launches, Rockstar may have spent as much as $5 billion on GTA VI. So far, it seems as though GTA VI's high budget may have been worth it, with the game's launch trailer racking up 275 million views since it launched in 2024. GTA VI is also expected to launch at a substantial price premium, with previous rumors floating a $90+ MSRP.
41 Comments on Estimates Say GTA VI May Have Cost $2.1-$3 bn in Salaries Alone
Do the salaries for all the other employees just get paid from the ether? Especially with Rockstar, where they only work on 1-2 games at a time at most, the budget of their game projects is going to reflect company operations.
You also have made an assumption that there is a 1:8 ratio of programmers to other people.....mind providing a source for that?Again with the throwing out of anything you disagree with. It would be really embarrassing for you if Rockstar themselves had stated that and you were just refusing to acknowledge realit.....
www.gamespot.com/articles/rockstar-more-than-1000-people-made-gtav/1100-6415330/#:~:text=Rockstar:%20More%20than%201%2C000%20people,Grand%20Theft%20Auto%20IV%20combined.
Oh wait. LMFAO. :laugh: :roll: :laugh:
so what next? Are you going to claim that Rockstar is lying and feeding us all moose muffins?
And it is a reason why everybody, their cousin and their dog are looking for any way to cut cost down a zero or two.
And before they manage to cut costs down, they wont go for anything than another version of something what was a big success - Money wise.
You made up the 1:8 number and have nothing to back it up. You're making assumptions based on unrelated industries and guesses, then using it to dismiss claims with no evidence.
But we're supposed to believe you because......why?Context is important, as are details. What do YOU think you're missing?
I say that because in this time and age there is no excuse for a game to not look good while playing well. We have fuckton of technology and extremely powerful hardware, and there are good artists out there.
Indie joke games that cost $2 on Steam are obviously not part of my argument, I am talking about real commercial titles.
coming next is that Nvidia invests $1B into R* to implement AI in their games, and R* then buys $1B worth of GPUs from Nvidia
IME photo-realism just gets more expensive to make, rules out a large demographic of players who don't have high-end hardware, and we're not getting closer to perfection, we're just getting hung up on the uncanny valley of acting, motion, and AI failing to live up to the world the photo-realism creates.
Star Ocean 4 launched "early" in Xbox 360 cycle, those character models already detailed enough. Same with Lost Oddysey. Developers have lost the plot.
Have you read the thread title - OVER 3 BILLION DOLLARS.
Also, it's been 15 years since GTA V. Creating all the assets for a large, photo-realistic game world doesn't just cost stupendous amounts of money, it takes ridiculously long. I'm going to die of old age before GTA7 arrives and I'm in my forties. I was too young to buy GTA 1 and GTA 2, so the passage of time is a very real problem for these hyper-budget, photo-real AAA games with massive teams and decade-long development cycles...
they know how to sell it twice, three or even 4 times. initial release late in life of current consoles (PS3 for V) then PC then next consoles(PS4), and again for the next console (PS5). So you'll see the same exact thing with VI.