GTA 6 development: from the 2022 confirmation to launch

Most of what is known about how GTA 6 was made comes from Bloomberg, not from Rockstar. Each section below marks what is confirmed and what is only reported.

GTA 6 development at a glance

• Developer: Rockstar Games, owned by Take-Two Interactive. Bloomberg reported that Rockstar North in Edinburgh leads the work.
• First confirmed: February 4, 2022.
• Revealed: with Trailer 1 on December 4, 2023 (US time), a day early after a leak.
• Delays: two, both announced by Rockstar.
• Launch: Thursday, November 19, 2026, on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
• Budget: no official figure.

GTA 6 development history, from 2022 to launch

On February 4, 2022, Rockstar said active development of the next Grand Theft Auto was “well underway”. On September 18, 2022, about 90 early development clips leaked on a forum. Rockstar confirmed the intrusion the next day and said it did not expect any disruption to development.

A message signed by Sam Houser on November 8, 2023 promised the first trailer for early December. Trailer 1 leaked on X, so Rockstar posted it early, on December 4, 2023 US time, with a 2025 window. Rockstar then moved the game twice: on May 2, 2025 to May 26, 2026, and on November 6, 2025 to November 19, 2026, the second time citing the need for polish.

Since then the date has held: pre-orders opened on June 25, 2026, and the launch trailer arrived on October 15. Every date is in the GTA 6 timeline, and both delays are explained in GTA 6 delays.

Who makes GTA 6?

GTA 6 is made by Rockstar Games, which is owned by Take-Two Interactive. Bloomberg reported that Rockstar North leads development, named Rob Nelson, Aaron Garbut and Phil Hooker as heads of development after longtime GTA co-writer Dan Houser left in March 2020, and put Rockstar’s company-wide headcount at about 4,711. Studios, the engine and the 2025 staff dispute are in who makes GTA 6.

How long has GTA 6 been in development?

Rockstar has never given a start date. Bloomberg reported that the game had been taking shape since 2014, that the first research trip to Miami was in 2015, and that finishing Red Dead Redemption 2 in October 2018 pulled most of the company away from it.

That makes roughly 8 to 12 years by launch, and 13 years and 2 months since GTA 5 came out on September 17, 2013. The full count is in how long GTA 6 has been in development, and past dates are in GTA games release dates.

How much did GTA 6 cost to make?

Neither Rockstar nor Take-Two has published a budget, and Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has only called the game expensive. Rockstar’s head of publishing, Jennifer Kolbe, told Bloomberg the widely repeated claim of more than $1.5 billion is not true. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier says it likely cost more than $1 billion; the other figures are checked in GTA 6 cost to make.

GTA 6 development status as of November 3, 2026

The game is in its last weeks. In late August, Rob Nelson told Famitsu that GTA 6 would definitely be released on November 19 and that the team was still refining it daily. Phil Hooker told Bloomberg the delays came from parts not coming together on schedule rather than from one crisis.

• Preload: from November 12, 2026, for digital pre-orders.
• Leaks: clips from a site called Cyberleek appeared from August 18, 2026; Rockstar called the leaks “heartbreaking for our team”. See GTA 6 leaks.
• Scams: any GTA 6 download, APK, beta or “early access” outside the PlayStation Store and Xbox Store is a scam.

What comes after GTA 6?

Rockstar has announced nothing beyond launch. GamesBeat reported, citing four sources, that a PC version is planned for the first quarter of 2027, and Twitch’s CEO told Bloomberg he expects multiplayer in 2027; Rockstar has confirmed neither.

Rockstar’s heads of development told Bloomberg the next game should take less time, because they will keep the current engine, tools and team. No GTA 7 has been announced; see GTA 7 release date.