What major revelations about GTA 6's development timeline and costs were unveiled in the Bloomberg report?

Grand Theft Auto 6 is getting closer to its expected November 19 release, and a new Bloomberg report has shed light on how Rockstar Games has been building the highly anticipated game. Reporter Jason Schreier’s deep dive explores the project’s cost, long development, story direction and technical challenges. It also addresses rumors about the game’s original map and explains why its complex characters have taken so much work.

Here are seven major GTA 6 details revealed in the report.




1. Did GTA 6 really cost $1.5 billion to make

Rockstar has not revealed the game’s exact budget. However, publishing head Jennifer Kolbe dismissed a popular rumor that development had cost more than $1.5 billion, the reported construction cost of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa.

Schreier still describes GTA 6 as the most expensive game ever made, pointing to its huge workforce and years of development.

2. Why has GTA 6 taken so long to develop

Although GTA 5 arrived in 2013, Rockstar did not immediately focus all its resources on the sequel. The studio initially planned to develop GTA 6 alongside Red Dead Redemption 2.

But the western game grew in scope and needed more staff, including senior leaders. Bloomberg reported that this pushed GTA 6 back by several years.

Once Red Dead Redemption 2 was finished, GTA 6 became the studio’s main priority. The project then faced two delays and what development lead Rob Nelson described as “a dark period” when its direction remained uncertain.



3. How big has Rockstar become

Rockstar has expanded significantly while other parts of the gaming industry have faced cutbacks. According to Bloomberg, the company had 2,441 employees across 12 offices in 2018. It now has around 4,711 workers.

The expansion comes after earlier criticism of the studio’s working conditions during Red Dead Redemption 2’s development.

4. Will GTA 6 be more realistic than GTA 5

The new game appears to take more inspiration from Red Dead Redemption 2 than GTA 5, according to Schreier.

He describes GTA 6 as trying to balance the series’ familiar chaos with a more grounded story. Players can still expect outrageous moments, but the game also aims to make them care about its two central characters, Jason and Lucia.

5. Was GTA 6 originally going to cover more of the Americas

Yes. Schreier confirmed that an early codename was Project Americas because Rockstar originally planned to include large areas of North and South America.

The scope was later reduced to Miami and the surrounding region.



6. Why does GTA 6 use artificial intelligence

The game uses traditional video game AI, not ChatGPT-style generative AI. These systems help control non-player characters and their behaviour.

Making Jason and Lucia work as a couple has been a major challenge because their relationship changes with players’ choices.

“There’s trepidation about taking that on,” Nelson told Bloomberg. “Then you have certain people advocating for it: ‘We need this. This is a game about a couple. They have to be a couple.’ And so we had to commit to that.”

7. Did complex characters cause GTA 6’s delays

The report says Rockstar underestimated how much time and staff would be needed to build NPCs with distinct behaviour.

“The projections they were giving us were horrifying,” Nelson told Bloomberg.

Development head Phil Hooker explained the decision to delay the game: “We could hit that schedule, but it won’t be the game we want to make.”

The report offers a clearer picture of why GTA 6 has taken so many years to develop, with Rockstar prioritising the scale and detail it wants players to experience.