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Rockstar North Has Reportedly Spent $2.1 Billion on GTA VI Development
Financial filings reveal Rockstar North's wage bill reached £1.6 billion between 2019 and 2025, with total GTA VI development costs potentially hitting $3 billion.
Key update
According to recent reports, Rockstar North, a primary studio behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise, has spent approximately £1.6 billion (~$2.1 billion USD) on employee wages and salaries between 2019 and 2025, reportedly tied to GTA VI development. The report first emerged on March 29, after a fan analyzed Rockstar Games UK Limited's financial filings in the British Companies Register.
Why it matters
The data covers only salary and wage expenses for Rockstar North. It excludes expenditure from other Rockstar studios, marketing costs, and broader production costs. However, GTA VI is not the only active project at Rockstar, meaning a portion of the reported wages likely supports other titles as well.
What to watch
Neither Rockstar nor Take-Two has confirmed the figure as specifically attributed to GTA VI. However, the four-year-long development window from 2022 and roughly ten Rockstar studios working on GTA VI development have led to speculation that the total development cost of the upcoming title could rise up to $3 billion.
Context
Franchise predecessor GTA V was estimated to have a development cost between $206.5 million and $246.8 million, including marketing. Compared with the projected cost of GTA VI, the upcoming title will break the franchise record as well as the gaming industry record.
Bottom line
Since early 2025, reports have been circulating about GTA VI's production cost. IGN stated the budget could reach $1 billion in May 2025. In August 2025, Wedbush Securities equity research analyst Michael Pachter estimated that GTA VI's development cost could likely exceed $1.5 billion.
Update 6
However, the latest reports suggest that all previous estimations have been surpassed. A $3 billion projection would place GTA VI not only above the gaming industry in terms of budget, but would also surpass the reported production cost of Amazon's The Rings of Power, which was widely cited as the most expensive television series ever produced with a $2 billion estimated production cost across five seasons.