There is little doubt that GTA 6 is going to be the most expensive game ever madebut just how expensive? Well, a Redditor , available on a UK government website, and found its officially disclosed staff expenses.
GTA 6 started early development in late 2018, following Rockstar’s most recent game release (Red Dead Redemption 2). Over the years 2019-2025Rockstar North spent nearly $3 billion on total staff costs alone, including wages and salaries, social security, pension costs, and share-based payments.
| Period | Wages & Salaries | Social Security | Pension Costs | Share-Based Payments | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2019–20 | £191,512,717 | £21,569,212 | £2,986,508 | £29,786,296 | £245,854,733 |
| FY2020–21 | £223,366,023 | £21,503,653 | £3,538,646 | £31,937,353 | £280,345,675 |
| FY2021–22 | £346,482,704 | £25,184,276 | £4,167,231 | £57,410,887 | £433,245,098 |
| FY2022–23 | £316,441,069 | £27,471,725 | £4,994,840 | £67,858,542 | £416,766,176 |
| FY2023–24 | £315,681,722 | £28,312,018 | £5,773,735 | £54,618,755 | £404,386,230 |
| FY2024–25 | £282,672,000 | £27,986,000 | £6,784,000 | £45,657,000 | £363,099,000 |
| TOTAL (£) | £1,676,156,235 | £152,026,884 | £28,244,960 | £287,268,833 | £2,143,696,912 |
| TOTAL ($ – £1 = $1.27) | $2,128,718,418 | $193,074,143 | $35,871,099 | $364,831,418 | $2,722,495,078 |
On the one hand, Rockstar North did not just work on GTA 6 during all this time; the developer is still supporting the popular GTA Online and (to a much lesser extent since July 2022) even Red Dead Online. On the other hand, while staff costs certainly make up the majority of triple-A game development costs in countries like the US, Canada, and the UKthere are other costs as well. Furthermore, while the Edinburgh-based Rockstar North is certainly Rockstar’s heart, there are many other offices scattered across the globe, including San Diego, Toronto, New England, Lincoln, Leeds, London, Dundee, Sydney, and Bengaluru (Rockstar India).
When adding that the studio’s development approach is to give developers a virtually unlimited blueprintit’s far from a stretch to imagine that the overall GTA 6 budget, when considering all development costs and the soon-to-begin massive marketing campaign, could reach $4 or even 5 billion, making it by far the most expensive entertainment product ever made. For comparison, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier recently revealed that most triple-A games cost around $300 million nowadays.
Rockstar is in a whole other ballpark compared to anything else and will most likely recoup its expenses within days of the launch of GTA 6, given the incredible hype surrounding the release, now set for November 19, 2026 (barring any further delays). If GTA Online is any indication, the bulk of profits will likely come from its online mode, which, according to rumors we’ve previously gathered from an industry veteranmay be MMORPG-like.
As a reminder, Rockstar North recently faced controversy after firing several employees for leaking sensitive information. However, the employees countered that no information was actually leaked and that the terminations were specifically targeted at Rockstar employees who were on the verge of unionizing. A few employees were also laid off at the Toronto-based office, and our David Carcasole interviewed them after an on-site protest outside the studio’s Canadian headquarters.
Rockstar North was also in the news earlier this year due to an explosion in a boiler room. Luckily, the accident did not leave any employees injured.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief.
In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech’s gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews.
Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications.
His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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