GTA 6 sleuths deduce that Rockstar North has spent likely over $2 billion on the title

Grand Theft Auto VI fans and the gaming community as a whole, who are waiting for Rockstar’s next open-world crime epic, have turned into internet detectives as they wait for GTA VI’s release, slated for November 19, 2026.

As they wait, some internet detectives have dug into Rockstar Games’ public financial records and speculated on how much the game has cost to make so far, with estimates suggesting Rockstar Games has spent over $2 billion on Grand Theft Auto VI’s development. Some have previously speculated that the company’s overall cost is approaching $3 billion.

Recently, YouTuber Saukko505 broke down Rockstar Games’ public financial records on the UK Companies House website for Rockstar Games UK Limited. For context, this is the official company for Rockstar North, which is spearheading the development of GTA VI in Edinburgh.

The YouTuber took a deep dive into staff salaries and wages from 2019 onward, when full production of GTA VI was speculated to have shifted gears. He made a rough estimate and suggested the game’s development budget could range from $3 billion to $5 billion.

However, he made sure to clarify that he’s no accountant and that he’s making an educated guess. Still, his analysis has certainly led to some profound discussions online.

On the other hand, another user online, a Redditor, took to r/GTA6, adopted a similar approach, and zeroed in on more specific figures. User Due-Vanilla-8924 posted on the GTA 6 subreddit and stated:

“I went and looked at some public documents filed on a UK government website detailing the financials for Rockstar North, and I discovered something interesting: Rockstar has invested even more than $2B into the game.”

He continued:

“Assuming that GTA 6 entered full production in 2019, I compiled all the available financial documents from 2020 to 2026 and looked at the expenses related to employee wages and salaries:

• From March 31, 2019, to March 31, 2020: £191M
• From March 31, 2020, to March 31, 2021: £223M
• From March 31, 2021, to March 31, 2022: £346M
• From March 31, 2022, to March 31, 2023: £316M
• From March 31, 2023, to March 31, 2024: £315M
• From March 31, 2024, to March 31, 2025: £282M.”

The Redditor further elaborated, “Adding all these costs brings the total to at least £2.1B. This currently only accounts for Rockstar North since the address corresponds to the Rockstar North building. This means we’re not even including costs from other studios. Rockstar might be heading for the $3B mark.”

Still, this information should be taken with a grain of salt, as these filings cover Rockstar Games’ overall spending and don’t solely account for GTA VI. The company has been actively supporting titles like GTA Online and updating Red Dead Online regularly.

If this speculation holds, though, GTA VI could be not only Rockstar Games’ most expensive title but also gaming’s most expensive AAA project to date. This also does not include what is expected to be one of the most aggressive and all-encompassing video game marketing budgets, which many expect will dwarf Rockstar’s spending on its predecessor.