While much has been discussed about the price of GTA 6, the question also arises of how much the development of the title has actually cost. A clever user has now found strong hints that leave fans astonished.
How much should GTA 6 cost? According to the findings of a user, which MeinMMO has verified and confirmed, the costs for wages and salaries at Rockstar Games UK Limited since April 2019 amount to more than 1.9 billion Euros. This does not yet account for the fiscal year 2025, which ends on March 31, 2026.
The wages and salaries are projected to be approximately 93% for developers and 7% for administration in fiscal year 2024. By the release of GTA 6 on November 19, 2026, the development costs could accordingly rise to over 2.5 billion Euros.
Here you can see the trailer for GTA 6:
High costs that should pay off
Where do the figures come from? Rockstar Games UK Limited is registered in the United Kingdom and provides detailed reports on the balance sheet and business figures for each fiscal year. These are publicly accessible through a UK Companies House website and can be retrieved for several years. You can find individual fiscal years of Rockstar Games here available as PDF files.
There, among other things, you can find the exact costs for wages and salaries, the average number of employees, as well as information on taxes and pensions paid. The fact that the costs lie in this area significantly exceeds previous estimates.
So far, estimates based on insider reports have assumed development costs of one to two billion US dollars, or 870 million to 1.7 billion Euros. The fact that costs are now already above the highest estimates shows how much money is behind the project.
Expert Josh Chapman predicted GTA 6 will generate 6.6 billion Euros in revenue by 2025, which would cover the development costs. At the same time, the developers employed by the company can also work on other things.
It is therefore unclear what percentage of the costs truly fall on GTA 6 and what costs may have been incurred outside of Rockstar Games UK Limited. However, the costs for wages and salaries remain a significant indicator.
How are players reacting to the price? Despite the high costs, or perhaps because of them, fans are confident about the release of GTA 6. On Reddit, they believe the expenditures will easily be recouped by the open-world title:
- Novel_Yam_1034: “They will get it back in the first 3 days after the game launch”
- xsaadx: “They will recover 3 billion dollars just from pre-orders”
- 0nlyFuZZ: “There will definitely be a lot of monetization coming our way. Not just Shark Cards.”
So far, there has been no statement from Rockstar Games or Take-Two indicating how much the title will cost for consumers. Speculation has suggested prices of over 100 € per copy. For PC players, there are also the costs for a PS5 or Xbox Series X|S to consider. Those who buy a new console specifically for GTA 6 will soon have to dig deeper into their pockets: The PS5 will be increasing in price by 100 Euros in a few days; who should buy now?
