Abstract:
Rockstar Games stated that players do not have to wait as long as "Grand Theft Auto VI" (GTA 6) for the next game. Phil Hook, the co-lead responsible for the development of "GTA 6", said in an in-depth report by Bloomberg that the engines, tools and collaborative teams created by the team in this project will help speed up future development; he believes that the company can "expand horizontally" on the existing basis to create more attractive content, without having to "expand vertically" from scratch to a larger scale every time.
Another co-lead, Aaron Garbutt, said that Rockstar has fundamentally transformed many technologies and processes in the "GTA 6" project, but once these foundations are completed, the company will not tear them down and redo them. The team has not announced the name or release date of the next game, nor has it been stated whether this technology will be used in a new "GTA" game, other series, or a new project. Therefore, management's statement means that development methods may be more efficient, and is not a promise that the next game will be released in a specific year.
This commitment responds to the ever-lengthening gap between Rockstar’s major releases in recent years. "Red Dead Redemption 2" was launched in 2018, and "GTA 6" is scheduled to be released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 19, 2026; if released on this date, the two works will be released about eight years apart. "GTA 5" was launched as early as 2013, about 13 years after the release of "GTA 6". The first "GTA 6" trailer will be released in 2023, and it will take about three years until it is officially released.
The size of the development team has also been greatly expanded. Bloomberg reported that Rockstar had approximately 2,441 employees during the production of "Red Dead Redemption 2"; as of August 2026, the number of employees increased to 4,711, distributed in 12 offices around the world.
Rockstar management regards "GTA 6" as the technical foundation for future content development, but has not disclosed the budget or specific plans for the next game. The company has also not announced the official production cost of "GTA 6"; executives denied rumors that it cost more than $1.5 billion, but did not give an alternative figure.
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