The most expensive game ever? GTA 6 and the limits of AAA budgets

For many players, Grand Theft Auto is practically synonymous with “gaming” – the first serious open-world sandbox, the first drive in a stolen car, the first time you just “wandered around the city” without any mission, purely for fun.

Now, more than two decades later, the series is reaching GTA 6 – a game believed to have the largest budget in the history of the industry. Estimates talk about over one billion dollars, which raises an important question: have we entered the era of “Hollywood” budgets that break every record?

GTA 6 hero illustration of Vice City at night

A brief history of the GTA series: from 2D chaos to open worlds

Before we talk about billions, it’s worth remembering where it all started.

  • GTA (1997) – top-down view, pixelated cities of Liberty, Vice and San Andreas, missions that felt more like chaotic sandbox toys than a “serious story”.
  • GTA 2 (1999) – faster, crazier, with gangs and a slightly futuristic tone, but still 2D.
  • GTA III (2001) – revolution. For the first time we get a proper 3D open city (Liberty City), a cinematic feel, car radio stations, and a story that keeps pulling you forward.
  • GTA: Vice City (2002) – neon, the eighties, music and atmosphere that many still consider “the real GTA feeling”.
  • GTA: San Andreas (2004) – California in miniature: three cities, countryside, gym, RPG elements, bicycles, planes – a game that defined an entire generation.
  • GTA IV (2008) – a darker, more realistic tone and a new version of Liberty City.
  • GTA V (2013) – three protagonists, a huge world with Los Santos and its surroundings, plus a separate monster: GTA Online, which practically turned the game into a platform that has been earning and living for more than a decade.

Today, GTA V has sold over 220 million copies, making it one of the best-selling games of all time, while the entire series has earned over 10 billion dollars through games and online content.

In other words – Rockstar is not just a studio that makes games; it’s a machine for global blockbusters.

What makes GTA 6 so ambitious?

From the very first trailers it’s clear that GTA 6 aims to be the definitive open world for the new console generation:

Two protagonists on a rooftop above a neon city

  • The story is set in the fictional US state of Leonida, with a return to Vice City – a version of Miami in the neon, social-media-driven madness of the 21st century.
  • We follow two protagonists, including Lucia, the first main female lead in a GTA game, and her partner in crime.
  • The city feels more densely populated than ever: beaches, swamps, highways, clubs, in-game social media, viral clips, protests – everything looks like a living digital ecosystem.
  • On the technical side: a new version of Rockstar’s RAGE engine, massive animation and motion-capture work, more realistic physics for vehicles, water and traffic.

All of that means years of work on the engine, hundreds (if not thousands) of employees, big contracts for music, voice actors and capture studios – and of course, a global marketing campaign that will likely be a story of its own.

How much does GTA 6 really cost?

The official budget has not been announced, but there is a strong consensus in gaming media and industry analysis that GTA 6 is the most expensive game in development so far.

The most commonly mentioned numbers are:

  • Over 1 billion dollars total (development + marketing) – some analyses and reports quote this as a realistic lower bound.
  • Estimates go as high as 1.5–2 billion dollars, but those larger figures are mostly based on a mix of rumors, projections and comparisons with other AAA titles, not on official documents.

It’s important to understand what’s included in that figure:

  • multi-year development of the new RAGE engine for current-gen consoles,
  • huge teams of programmers, artists, designers, writers, QA testers and live-ops staff,
  • licensed music and a specially produced soundtrack,
  • production of trailers and promotional material,
  • global marketing (TV spots, digital campaigns, events, partnerships).

If any of these “softer” items are counted into the budget, it isn’t hard to imagine the total cost breaking the one-billion mark. But for now all numbers should be seen as estimates, not official figures.

The 5 most expensive games so far – where does GTA 6 fit?

To put GTA 6 into context, let’s roughly compare it to some of the most expensive games ever (combined development + marketing where known; numbers are approximate):

  1. GTA 6 – estimates: 1,000+ million $ (unconfirmed, based on reports and analyses)
  2. Monopoly Go! – around 1,000 million $ (mobile game with an extremely large budget)
  3. Genshin Impact – around 900+ million $ (including initial development plus several years of live-service spending)
  4. Star Citizen + Squadron 42 – around 800+ million $ (combination of crowdfunding and investment, development still ongoing)
  5. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War – around 700 million $

Chart: 5 most expensive video games by estimated budget

When is GTA 6 coming out – and what do we know about the launch?

The current plan from Rockstar Games:

  • Release date: 26 May 2026
  • Launch platforms: PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S
  • PC version: traditionally for Rockstar it arrives later – that was the case with GTA V and is widely expected again now, even though there is still no official date.

Looking back at GTA V:

  • the game had a record-breaking start with one billion dollars in revenue in the first three days,
  • it continued selling millions of copies for years after release,
  • it became one of the most watched games on streaming platforms and still has a strong online presence today.

All this creates enormous pressure on GTA 6, but also explains why Rockstar is willing to spend an almost “movie-level” budget on development – the odds are high that this investment will pay off multiple times over.

Can GTA 6 become the best-selling game of all time?

Right now, the top of the list looks roughly like this:

  • Tetris – hundreds of millions of copies across different versions.
  • Minecraft – over 300 million copies sold.
  • GTA V – over 220 million.

GTA 6 has several strong advantages:

  • it launches at a time when the gaming market is the largest in history,
  • it stands on a brand that has already proven it can sell more than 200 million copies,
  • it arrives with huge hype, tons of trailers, leaks, theories and expectations,
  • it will likely feature a powerful online mode that can live for many years.

Whether it can surpass Minecraft or Tetris is an open question. But that it will aim to beat GTA V and maybe break some records in the first few weeks – many analysts agree on that.

Conclusion

GTA 6 is not “just another game in the series” – it’s a project that pushes the boundaries of what AAA production in gaming can be.

With a budget measured in billions, a promised massive open world, characters that look ready to become new iconic anti-heroes, and the pressure to surpass GTA V in everything – from graphics and story to online – GTA 6 is already writing history before it even releases.

Is it reasonable to spend a billion dollars on a game?
If you ask Rockstar, the answer is simple: yes, if it’s a game the whole world will be playing for the next ten years.

Disclaimer: The budget figures for GTA 6 are based on estimates and media reports, not on officially confirmed numbers. All amounts mentioned here are for informational and illustrative purposes only.