A major investigation by Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier has revealed details of the development of Grand Theft Auto VI and explained why making the game took more than eight years.
The reporter visited Rockstar North in Edinburgh and spoke with project leads. He found that work on GTA 6 began as early as 2015, but full-scale development got underway after Red Dead Redemption 2 launched in 2018.
GTA 6 was originally planned on a much larger scale
The first serious plans for GTA VI emerged as early as 2015. The project was given the working title Project Americas. The original idea was for the game to span several large regions of North and South America. Over time, Rockstar scaled back the concept and focused on Vice City and the fictional state of Leonida, inspired by Florida. This allowed the studio to devote more resources to the environments, characters, and events within the open world.
Red Dead Redemption 2 also affected the development timeline. Rockstar had to assign a significant portion of its staff to making the western, effectively pushing work on the next Grand Theft Auto into the background. However, the technology and experience gained during RDR2’s production later helped the studio advance animation, character behavior, and other systems for GTA 6.
Management challenges and a change in concept
After Red Dead Redemption 2 launched and Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser left, development of GTA VI was split among three people: Rob Nelson, Phil Hooker, and Aaron Garbut. This structure divided responsibilities among key leads, but reaching agreement on decisions proved challenging.
Some employees complained about slow decision-making, a lack of a unified direction, and revisiting work that had already been completed. The departure of experienced developers added to the difficulties.
By the end of 2019, the story’s foundation had taken shape, centering on protagonists Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos. However, developers were still trying to determine how realistic the game should be. For instance, they discussed whether a character should have to take drinks from a store refrigerator themselves or buy individual ingredients to prepare food. Rockstar ultimately decided to strike a balance between realism and gameplay convenience.
The COVID-19 pandemic made matters worse, disrupting coordination among employees, motion-capture shoots, and other production processes. Schreier estimates that the pandemic may have added around one to two years to development.
At the same time, Rockstar substantially expanded its workforce. The company had 2,441 employees in 2018, but by August 2026, that number had risen to 4,711 across 12 offices worldwide. This expansion increased production capacity but made coordination between teams more difficult.
Delays and staffing shortages
The first official GTA 6 trailer was released in December 2023 and gave 2025 as the release window. Take-Two executives publicly expressed confidence in that date, but developers had doubts about whether the project could be finished on time.
The game’s release was officially delayed twice: first to May 26, 2026, and then to November 19 of the same year.
One major challenge was the enormous amount of work involved in creating non-player characters (NPCs). According to Rob Nelson, the initial estimates for how many NPCs would be needed literally horrified management. Developers had to do more than populate the open world: they also had to create dialogue, animations, and various behavior patterns for the characters.
To tackle this, Rockstar assembled a dedicated team of writers, producers, and directors in Los Angeles to focus on creating NPC content.
However, the delays were not caused by any one specific problem, but by a combination of unfinished elements. According to Phil Hooker, the team could have met the previous schedule, but the result would not have met its own quality standards.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick was stunned by the news of the second delay and at first couldn’t believe what he was hearing. After Rockstar explained the situation in detail, however, he agreed that the game needed more development time.
Physics and AI systems
Rather than expanding the game world across multiple continents, Rockstar focused on adding detail to the environments and improving how the game’s systems interact.
For example, GTA VI has a dedicated character-sweating system that takes the intensity of physical activity into account. Jason and Lucia will sweat noticeably more while dancing energetically at a nightclub than when they are resting. It remains unclear whether this mechanic affects gameplay or is limited to visual effects.
Developers paid close attention to interactions between the protagonists. Jason and Lucia will be able to spend time together not only during story missions, but also while doing everyday activities in the open world. For example, one character might text the other to suggest meeting up, after which they could go for a walk or head to the gym.
Their activities together will not be limited to peaceful pastimes. The two will be able to pull off heists together, get into confrontations with the police, and exchange lines even while fleeing.
NPC behavior was another separate challenge. Developers are creating different scenarios for characters to act out and react to events. For example, a minor car collision could escalate into a fight between drivers, which could then lead to a police chase and a whole chain of unexpected events.
Phil Hooker said that during one internal playtest, he set out to do a story mission but kept getting distracted by random incidents. He ended up spending around two hours in the open world without ever reaching his original objective.
The game also features a “Crime Profile” system, which Rockstar has discussed before. It tracks Jason and Lucia’s criminal behavior, including unjustified violence. The system differs from a conventional morality meter: what matters is not simply whether the player commits a crime, but how they go about it.
Engine upgrades and financial forecast
Over the course of development, Rockstar significantly upgraded its proprietary RAGE engine and created new game-production tools. According to Phil Hooker, these technologies and the team they have built should enable the studio to work faster on future projects, without spending as much time creating basic systems from scratch.
The developers expect future major games to make use of this existing technological foundation. However, no specific projects or production timelines have been announced.
With the release scheduled for November 19, 2026, analysts are forecasting record sales. GTA 6 is expected to sell around 40 million copies in its first four months and generate more than $3 billion in revenue.
Jason Schreier, however, considers the financial forecast conservative and says the actual figures could be higher.
Grand Theft Auto VI will launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. A release date for the PC version has not yet been announced.
