Strauss Zelnick would not say whether Grand Theft Auto 6 cost well over $1 billion to make, leaving the scale of one of the most anticipated releases in games still unconfirmed. In a May 2026 interview published by Business Insider, the Take-Two Interactive chief declined to confirm or deny the reported figure even as the game heads toward a Nov. 19 launch.
The timing matters because readers are not just waiting on a trailer or a release date. They are watching a release that Rockstar Games has described as the largest game launch in history, and one that has already been pushed back twice. Grand Theft Auto 6 is set for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, and after eight years in development, the question around its budget has become part of the story around its scale.
Take-Two Interactive is forecasting $8 billion in revenue this year, which shows how much is riding on the title and the broader business around it. Industry estimates cited by Business Insider in May point to why the budget talk has gained so much traction: Grand Theft Auto 5 made $800 million on launch day in 2013, roughly 13 million copies at an $80 price, while Grand Theft Auto 4 sold 6 million copies in its first week in 2008 and brought in $500 million. Red Dead Redemption 2 sold $725 million across its first weekend in 2018.
That history is what makes the unconfirmed budget so loaded. If Grand Theft Auto 6 really cost $1 billion and sold for $80, Rockstar would need to move 12.5 million copies just to recoup development costs, before other expenses are counted. That is not impossible for a franchise this large, but it is a far higher bar than the one facing most games, and it explains why Zelnick would not put a number on the record.
The friction is that the business case and the public message do not line up neatly. Rockstar is talking about the biggest launch it has ever planned, major publishers have already shifted competing games out of the same window, and the market itself has changed under pressure from the pandemic, recession, higher game prices and higher console prices. Grand Theft Auto 6 still looks set to be a giant release. What remains unknown is whether the reported $1 billion development cost is real, and that is the number investors, rivals and fans are waiting for Zelnick to answer.
