Bloomberg Businessweek published a major feature on October 14 on the making of GTA 6: headcount, budget, leadership, working conditions and Rockstar's next project.
Sources bloomberg.com · vgtimes.com · libertycity.net
🚨 ALERT · Bloomberg's big feature on how GTA 6 was made
Bloomberg Businessweek published "The Making of Grand Theft Auto VI" on October 14, a very long feature by Jason Schreier, who visited Rockstar North in Edinburgh in late September. For the first time, Rockstar executives speak publicly about what happened behind the scenes: the delays, the budget, the teams, the leaks and working conditions. The piece is paywalled, so this summary relies on Bloomberg and detailed reports from VGTimes, LibertyCity and Beebom.
After visiting the studio, Schreier calls the date likely. He notes nobody is ever 100% sure until the game is installed at home, but nothing in the feature hints at a third delay. The first delay pushed release to May 2026, the second to November. Management says there was no dramatic cause: several things were simply not ready in time. Publishing head Jennifer Kolbe says Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick was stunned by the second delay before accepting it once it was explained (LibertyCity). Preload on November 12, prices and editions: see our release page.
The feature's subtitle sums it up: to build the biggest blockbuster in gaming, Rockstar first had to rebuild itself. It had 2,441 employees when Red Dead Redemption 2 launched in 2018 and has 4,711 today across 12 offices, per VGTimes, which would make it larger than any direct competitor.
Read also GTA 6: Rob Nelson on how Rockstar opens up missions without losing the story
Facing a severe shortage of non-player characters, the studio rushed to open a Los Angeles office dedicated only to NPCs, with writers, producers and directors. It says a lot about the ambition of a Vice City meant to feel more alive than any previous open world.
The project was called Project Americas. It was meant to cover several territories in North and South America, with a first research trip to Miami in 2015. The map was later cut down to Miami and its surroundings when Rockstar put most of its teams on Red Dead Redemption 2, which pushed GTA 6 back by years. The Jason and Lucia story was locked in late 2019, but the overall vision stayed blurry much longer, and the pandemic disrupted motion-capture studios.
Rob Nelson, who leads development, speaks of a "dark period" when the team had no clear vision of the game yet. In his view, the delay lets everything built so far "pay off" once they reach the final game (Bloomberg).
After co-founder and head writer Dan Houser left, the development lead role is shared between Rob Nelson, Phil Hooker and Aaron Garbut. Some employees complain of too many decision makers and contradictory instructions, LibertyCity reports. The feature describes leadership that admits making blind decisions, with much of the game still unfinished during the debates.
The team debated at length how realistic the game should be. Should the player grab a beer from a store fridge or make a sandwich from bought groceries? Should a beer arrive instantly or after a purchase sequence? A car-collision test even pulled Phil Hooker off his mission for two hours of chases and unplanned events.
To recreate a Miami nightclub, teams went on location. They rode with police through sensitive neighborhoods, photographed the city from a helicopter and weaved through a party crowd to study lighting. Animators then worked on every patron, every drink, the music and the lights.
The main novelty described is that the couple can do activities together: walk around, go to the gym, rob stores then run from the police. This required complex traditional companion AI systems that management hesitated to launch. The article also includes new screenshots of the game.
In 2022 a hacker got into Rockstar's Slack through phishing and leaked dozens of raw gameplay videos. A second major leak happened in August 2026, according to LibertyCity. It is one of the reasons management gives for locking down access. We follow it in our Cyberleek file.
Since 2024, office attendance is mandatory five days a week, for security reasons. GTA 6 developers have no access to servers or tools from outside. Management says it wants to review the policy after release, without promising a hybrid model.
Rockstar says it reduced crunch without eliminating it. According to Jennifer Kolbe, the game was not finished through prolonged overtime: employees got compensatory days off and bonuses. Management admits that not everything was "perfect".
The 2025 dismissal of 34 employees remains the most sensitive topic. Most belonged to a group trying to form a union. Rockstar accuses them of sharing confidential information on Discord, which the former staff deny. A Glasgow tribunal is due to conclude the case in late October. The union group asked for voluntary recognition and talks with management weekly.
Rockstar gives no figure. Jennifer Kolbe denies the rumor of a budget above .5 billion. Bloomberg still judges it almost certainly the most expensive game ever made, and Schreier suggests more than a billion. These are journalist estimates, not official numbers.
Analysts cited by Bloomberg expect 40 million copies on PlayStation and Xbox and more than billion in revenue in the first four months. The online mode is planned for 2027 (Beebom), while GTA Online currently earns around million a year.
No title is named. The new engine and tools should let Rockstar release content faster without starting from scratch. Management promises the next game will not take eight years.
For launch, nothing: GTA 6 is still due November 19, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, with no PC version announced. The feature mostly shows the human and financial cost of an eight-year project, and a company that doubled in size to get there. See every official image in our official GTA 6 photos gallery, the price details and our journal for more.
Sources bloomberg.com · vgtimes.com · libertycity.net
By Solange Rocheval · GTAVIFRANCE newsroom
Next articleGTA 6: the mosaic cover was born from 9/11, says Dan Houser
10/09/2026 03:30GTA 6: Rob Nelson on how Rockstar opens up missions without losing the story
10/14/2026 14:27GTA 6: the mosaic cover was born from 9/11, says Dan Houser
10/14/2026 14:27GTA 6: Rockstar says Leonida is built to be replayed, like RDR2
10/14/2026 08:19GTA 6: Take-Two reports earnings November 9, ten days before launch