Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) is rumored to have an unprecedented budget estimated between $1 billion and $2 billion, potentially making it the most expensive video game ever developed. This staggering figure, although not officially confirmed by Rockstar Games or its parent company Take-Two Interactive, first surfaced through leaked screenshots from a 2022 hacker incident and has since been widely discussed and analyzed in the gaming community GTA V Online Money.
To put this rumored budget into perspective, GTA 5, one of the most successful games in history, had a production budget of approximately $250 million, including marketing. Other high-profile games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 had budgets around $316 million and $385 million, respectively. If GTA 6’s budget truly reaches $2 billion, it would surpass not only all previous video games but also many blockbuster Hollywood films, such as Avengers: Endgame, which cost about $350 million.
The rumored $2 billion budget reportedly includes all aspects of the game’s development cycle: production, marketing, post-launch multiplayer content, and downloadable content (DLC). Rockstar’s history of investing heavily in its flagship titles supports the plausibility of such a figure. For example, Red Dead Redemption 2 cost nearly $540 million over eight years and generated $725 million in sales during its opening weekend.
Despite the enormous investment, industry experts and insiders believe GTA 6 will be priced around the standard AAA game price of $70 at launch, similar to its predecessors. The game’s monetization strategy is expected to rely heavily on in-game microtransactions, such as Shark Cards in GTA 5, rather than a higher upfront cost. This approach aims to keep the game accessible while maximizing long-term revenue.
The massive budget also reflects Rockstar’s ambition to deliver the "biggest and most immersive evolution" of the Grand Theft Auto series yet, with advanced graphics, expansive open-world environments, and complex multiplayer features. The development reportedly began around 2014, over a decade, which partly explains the high costs.
While the $2 billion figure remains speculative without official confirmation, it highlights the scale and expectations surrounding GTA 6. Given the franchise’s history of breaking sales records and the growing costs of AAA game development, such an investment could set new industry standards and redefine what is possible in gaming GTA 5 Enhanced Accounts for sale.