As we anticipate the release of GTA 6, leaks about the game are constantly being revealed, which is normal since this is one of the most highly anticipated games. A new leak recently surfaced, which differs from the usual leaks about the game’s world or features, pertains to the development budget, indicating that Rockstar Games is set to spend millions on this game.
The video game that holds the record for being the most expensive.
One of the most expensive video games ever made is GTA VI, Grand Theft Auto VI, which will be released on May 26 next year (2026); GTA VI is the eighth main series installment and the sixteenth overall in the Grand Theft Auto series. Nevertheless, the process began in 2014. According to The Independent, Rockstar Games spent $1–2 billion on the game, making it the most ambitious entertainment project ever.
What is the level of importance of this figure? Even if we assume $1 billion, it would still be more than the costs to produce Avatar, Avengers, and Star Wars. The three movies have earned a total of $700 million. The game has reached the top spot for most expensive video games, thanks to its $900 million marketing budget. Genshin Impact ($900 million), Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War ($700 million), and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare ($640 million) complete the list of the top five.
Why Does Doing GTA VI Cost So Much
The huge $1-2 BILLION budget for GTA VI reflects how much digital entertainment costs today. The team at Rockstar has set out to create an incredibly realistic city that takes as many resources as a major movie or a large city-building project. Unlike building something physical, a digital world is made by:
- Global cooperation: Thousands of developers from many different studios.
- New technologies: Motion capture, AI, and photorealistic rendering.
- Realistic detail: The music, voices, and scenery are often better than you’d find in real life.
- Extended timelines: Years spent going through many tests and revisions.
The large size of the project caused additional costs. After three years of initial research, the development of Red Dead Online started in 2018 once Red Dead Redemption 2 was released. The pandemic’s impact on working from home made the process take longer than planned. Although the company tried to keep things secret and planned for a 2025 release, making the game as realistic as possible led to a 2026 launch. As a result, the industry is moving toward creating more realistic games, and the difference between virtual and physical art becomes less clear.
A Trailer That Shuts Down the Skeptics
Many fans were annoyed by GTA VI’s delays and Rockstar’s aversion to handling them. This gave birth to an internet meme called ‘before GTA 6’. Social media users in this meme would probably witness improbable events, pointing out that such a weird event occurred before Grand Theft Auto 6 came out. Ironically, this further raised the expectations for the game.
This week, Rockstar dropped the second trailer for GTA 6, showcasing jaw-dropping visuals captured entirely on PlayStation 5 hardware. This confirmation silenced skeptics who speculated that the footage was taken from the rumored PS5 Pro.
“Everything you see was captured in-game from a PlayStation 5,” Rockstar stated in a follow-up post on X (formerly Twitter).
Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 2 was captured entirely in-game from a PlayStation 5, comprised of equal parts gameplay and cutscenes.
pic.twitter.com/JWFfVYm3on— Rockstar Games
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May 7, 2025
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The statement underscores how effectively the massive budget has been utilized, pushing the PS5 to its limits without the need for next-gen hardware.
About GTA VI.
Like its forebears, GTA VI is an open-world game set in the imaginary U.S. state of Leonida, inspired by Florida. Unlike the earlier GTA games, it has several cities and two characters. The narrative follows a criminal team: Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos, the first non-optional female lead in the series. Like other GTA titles before it, the game mocks current pop culture; the trailer specifically digs at social media and influencer culture.
