Rockstar nearly doubled its headcount since RDR2, per Bloomberg figures cited by Journal du Geek, which asks what comes after GTA 6.
Sources journaldugeek.com
Rockstar Games has 4,711 employees as of August 2026, up from 2,441 at the launch of Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018, according to Bloomberg figures cited by Journal du Geek. The site asks whether the studio will have to shrink its teams after GTA 6 ships.
Nothing announces it. Journal du Geek recalls that Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has said in recent months he does not expect a major change in headcount: the studio has low turnover and plenty of work remains after launch, including GTA Online and updates.
The outlet itself separates an industry trend from a decision aimed at Rockstar. It cites Statista (about 10,500 layoffs in 2023, 14,800 in 2024), the GDC 2026 survey (17% of professionals laid off in a year), Microsoft's July 2026 cuts and Electronic Arts closing BioWare this week.
According to Journal du Geek, the growth reflects a wish to spread workload and limit crunch. The 4,711 people, across twelve offices, do not all work on GTA 6, since the studio also runs GTA Online.
Read also GTA 6: Rockstar grew from 2,400 to 4,700 staff, with 65 artists on the game
We have covered this before: a former Rockstar designer raised the risk three days ago, and we noted how the firing of an employee over a leak stuck with people.
No cited source mentions layoffs at Rockstar. The text notes that temporary contracts end and contractors are not renewed at some studios, but presents it as how the industry works, not as something observed at Rockstar.
For players, nothing before 19 November. For the industry, the question stands: can a studio that doubled in eight years keep that size after an expected hit? Take-Two says yes for now. Pricing and launch sales will give the first clue.
Sources journaldugeek.com
Reported Reported by the press, not confirmed by Rockstar
By Solange Rocheval · GTAVIFRANCE newsroom
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