With the video game industry now a multi-billion-dollar enterprise boasting global outreach, new RPGs and adventure titles are fast becoming modern blockbusters, and they have price tags to match. The cost it takes to build and market games have increased exponentially, with budgets of upwards of USD $100 million becoming a common sight for most AAA titles. However, fresh reports are suggesting the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto franchise might take the cake to become the most expensive video game ever made.
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As per Dexerto, Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive Software's highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 is heading towards a whopping "USD $1-2 billion" production budget after taking into consideration the marketing costs. GTA 6 suffered a major leak last year, which revealed footage of the game's early build and loads of unfinished gameplay, leading Rockstar Games to confirm that they were indeed hard at work on the next instalment. But since then the studio has been in a state of complete radio silence about the whole ordeal and hasn't revealed much of anything.
Video game development costs have seen a massive uptick in recent years, which is partly driven by the increasing complexity and scale of modern titles as well as longer production cycles. GTA 6 is one of the most highly awaited games of the decade and given Rockstar's obsession with attention to detail and the complex and expansive nature of its games, there are chances that it could drive the development costs higher. Additionally, GTA 6 has been in development for almost 10 years now and the longer it takes to make the game, the higher will be the budget.
GTA V | Image: Rockstar Games
For context, when GTA 5 was released back in 2013, the insane cost of creating it was estimated to be USD$265 million (AUD$396 million). Despite its enormous cost, GTA 5 blew away any and all expectations on its launch day, pocketing over USD$800 million (AUD$1.2 billion) in cold, hard cash, and it hasn't stopped there. Through next-gen re-releases and the ever-popular and growing GTA Online, the game is still rolling in the green.
As per Take-Two, GTA 5 has brought in USD$7.7 billion (AUD$11.4 billion) as of 2023 and still is a massive money maker for the company. So with numbers like that, it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine GTA 6 reaching or even surpassing the billion-dollar mark. Brace yourself, folks!
As of right now, the world's most expensive game is Star Citizen, a crowdfunded game that has managed to accumulate around half a billion dollars since 2012. Rockstar Games hasn't confirmed any details surrounding GTA 6's budget and most of it is only being speculated based on the details at hand, so it's best to take everything with a hefty dose of scepticism and salt.
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