It’s widely anticipated that GTA 6 will claim the title of the most expensive game ever created. But precisely how much will it cost? A curious Redditor recently uncovered officially disclosed staff expense records for Rockstar North, found on a UK government website, shedding some light on the matter.
Initial development for GTA 6 commenced in late 2018, shortly after the launch of Rockstar’s previous major title, Red Dead Redemption 2. From 2019 through 2025, Rockstar North’s total expenditure on staff—covering wages, salaries, social security, pension contributions, and share-based compensation—totaled almost $3 billion.
| Period | Wages & Salaries | Social Security | Pension Costs | Share-Based Payments | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2019–20 | £191,512,717 | £21,569,212 | £2,986,508 | £29,786,296 | £245,854,733 |
| FY2020–21 | £223,366,023 | £21,503,653 | £3,538,646 | £31,937,353 | £280,345,675 |
| FY2021–22 | £346,482,704 | £25,184,276 | £4,167,231 | £57,410,887 | £433,245,098 |
| FY2022–23 | £316,441,069 | £27,471,725 | £4,994,840 | £67,858,542 | £416,766,176 |
| FY2023–24 | £315,681,722 | £28,312,018 | £5,773,735 | £54,618,755 | £404,386,230 |
| FY2024–25 | £282,672,000 | £27,986,000 | £6,784,000 | £45,657,000 | £363,099,000 |
| TOTAL (£) | £1,676,156,235 | £152,026,884 | £28,244,960 | £287,268,833 | £2,143,696,912 |
| TOTAL ($ – £1 = $1.27) | $2,128,718,418 | $193,074,143 | $35,871,099 | $364,831,418 | $2,722,495,078 |
It’s important to consider that Rockstar North wasn’t solely dedicated to GTA 6 development throughout this period; the studio continues to maintain the highly successful GTA Online and, since July 2022, provides limited support for Red Dead Online. Moreover, although personnel expenses typically constitute the largest portion of a triple-A game’s development budget in regions such as the US, Canada, and the UK, additional expenditures also exist. Beyond its core Edinburgh studio, Rockstar operates numerous international branches in locations like San Diego, Toronto, New England, Lincoln, Leeds, London, Dundee, Sydney, and Bengaluru (Rockstar India).
Given the studio’s philosophy of granting developers a virtually limitless creative scope, it’s not unreasonable to project that the comprehensive budget for GTA 6—encompassing all development expenditures and the impending extensive marketing blitz—could escalate to $4 billion or even $5 billion. This would undeniably establish it as the costliest entertainment product in history. In contrast, industry reporter Jason Schreier of Bloomberg recently disclosed that contemporary triple-A titles typically incur costs of approximately $300 million.
Rockstar operates on an entirely different scale from its competitors and is expected to quickly recover its investment within days of GTA 6’s launch, propelled by immense anticipation for the game, currently scheduled for November 19, 2026 (assuming no additional postponements). Judging by the success of GTA Online, a significant portion of the revenue will probably originate from its online component, rumored by an industry veteran whom we’ve previously quoted to potentially resemble an MMORPG.
It’s worth recalling that Rockstar North recently encountered controversy following the dismissal of several employees accused of leaking confidential data. These employees, however, argued that no leaks occurred and that their terminations were aimed specifically at staff members within Rockstar who were considering unionizing. Additionally, some employees were let go from the Toronto office, and our colleague David Carcasole spoke with them after a protest held outside the studio’s Canadian premises.
Earlier this year, Rockstar North also made headlines when a boiler room explosion occurred. Fortunately, no employees sustained injuries in the incident.
About the author: Bringing over twenty years of expertise in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has been at the helm of Wccftech’s gaming section since August 2015. His career began early, contributing to Italian platforms such as Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it, prior to establishing Worlds Factory, an independent English-language publication, where he served as its founder and Editor in Chief.
Over the past decade, he has overseen all content generated by Wccftech’s gaming division, handled public relations, assigned review tasks, reported daily news, edited gaming articles, and published game reviews.
His signature work includes an extensive collection of exclusive developer interviews, frequently referenced by Wikipedia and major news outlets and gaming publications.
A keen interest in technology also ensures his proficiency in gaming hardware and related tech. His preferred game categories encompass RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure titles.
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