GTA 6 took more than eight years to make, slipped twice, and started life as a much bigger game than the one launching on November 19. That is the picture from Bloomberg’s feature on the game’s development, published on October 14, in which Rockstar’s leads spoke openly about the delays, crunch, the cost and what comes next.
Here is what they said, in short, and what it means for you.
It began as “Project Americas”
The game’s codename was Project Americas, because the first plan covered large parts of both North and South America. Over time Rockstar narrowed it to one fictional state, Leonida, built around a Miami-inspired Vice City. Development lead Rob Nelson described one stretch, when the direction wasn’t clear, as a “dark period”.
Analysis A smaller map than the first plan is not the same as a small map. See how big the GTA 6 map is for what has been confirmed.
Two delays, and a stunned Take-Two boss
Confirmed GTA 6 was first due in 2025, then moved to May 26, 2026, and finally to November 19, 2026, which Rockstar announced on its Newswire.
Bloomberg reports that Jennifer Kolbe, Rockstar’s head of publishing, phoned Take-Two chief executive Strauss Zelnick both times. The second delay caught him off guard: he could hardly believe it at first, Bloomberg says, though he accepted it once Rockstar explained why. The release date has held since.
Was there crunch?
After Red Dead Redemption 2, whose long overtime was widely reported, Rockstar says it set out not to finish GTA 6 by crunching. Kolbe told Bloomberg the studio did things differently this time and is proud of it, calling the result “not been perfect, but it’s certainly better than Red Dead II”.
That is not a promise of zero overtime. Kolbe accepted that some staff may have had a harder time than others. Posts on social media claiming Rockstar said there was “no crunch at all” go further than what she said.
The question is still live at the studio: Rockstar’s UK staff vote on a union from November 12 to 26, right across launch week.
The cost
Kolbe denied the rumour that GTA 6 cost more than $1.5 billion. Not announced Neither Rockstar nor Take-Two has given a real figure.
“Never completely settled”
Weeks from launch, Rockstar’s leads said the game is still being worked on. Technology director Phil Hooker told Bloomberg the game is “never completely settled”. Analysis That points to fixes and polish continuing up to release, which is normal for a game this size. If a day one patch arrives, a console left in rest mode or Sleep downloads it on its own; see how to preload GTA 6.
The next game won’t take eight years
Hooker and Rockstar veteran Aaron Garbut said Rockstar’s next game won’t take as long, because the engine, tools and team rebuilt for GTA 6 are now in place to build on. Not announced Rockstar hasn’t said what that next game is.
Take-Two is hunting the leaker
Away from the interview, Take-Two has gone to court over the leaked footage posted this year under the name “CyberLeek”. VGC and Variety reported in August that it filed subpoenas in a New York federal court asking Microsoft (which owns GitHub) and Discord for records that could identify the people behind the account. Discord confirmed to Variety that it received one. It is not a lawsuit against either company, and Rockstar hasn’t commented on whether the footage is real.
We don’t cover leaked footage or its contents, and we won’t link to it.
Common questions
Is GTA 6 delayed again?
No. Confirmed The release date is still November 19, 2026, on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. See the release time in your country.
Did Rockstar crunch on GTA 6?
Rockstar says it worked to avoid it and that things were better than on Red Dead Redemption 2, but it doesn’t claim there was none.
How much did GTA 6 cost to make?
Not announced Nobody official has said. Rockstar only denied the “more than $1.5 billion” rumour.
Related pages
GTA 6 release date and time
Rockstar’s UK staff vote on a union during GTA 6’s launch
GTA 6 PC and online rumours
