Some experts believe Grand Theft Auto 6‘s most recent delay could cost Rockstar $500 million. The New York-based developer is no stranger to long dev cycles or big budgets, but its upcoming title is taking things to new heights. Grand Theft Auto 6 was likely already set to be the company’s most expensive game to date, and now its enormous budget could balloon even more.
After multiple leaks and rumors, Rockstar officially announced another GTA 6 delay on November 6, 2025. The long-awaited follow-up to one of the best-selling games of all time will now come out on November 19, 2026, barring another delay. While it’s a disappointing move for many fans, it’s not necessarily a surprising one, but it could come with big cost implications for the studio.
Grand Theft Auto 6’s Newest Delay “Can Easily” Cost Rockstar Another $500 Million
Finance professor Rob Wilson told VideoGamer that GTA 6‘s six-month delay could cost half a billion in lost value and added development and marketing expenses. According to Wilson, the extra QA, marketing adjustments, and vendor complications alone could add another $350 million to the game’s budget. The professor then explained that the hit from pushing a highly profitable release date back half a year, together with these other costs, “can easily be a $500 million equivalent swing.” Other experts think the delay will be expensive, too, with industry insider Tom Henderson claiming the delay could cost $10 million each month in development expenses alone. Considering how GTA 6 is rumored to have a billion-dollar budget already, any of these increases would take it to truly eye-watering levels.
These costs may be worrying, as some fans believe GTA 6 could cost as much as $100, and millions, potentially hundreds of millions, in extra expenses could make Rockstar more likely to ask more for the game. Still, Wilson said pushing it beyond the $100 mark could lead to consumer backlash and set an unwanted precedent. Given those risks, Wilson expects Rockstar to make up for the expensive delay through a mix of paid DLC and premium editions.
Wilson also suggested that accepting the half million dollar hit in the delay could end up being more cost-effective for Rockstar than releasing GTA 6 before it’s ready. The professor explained that Rockstar has a strong reputation to uphold, and sullying it through releasing an unfinished product would hurt the company more than $500 million. It’s easy to see where that logic comes from, too, as Cyberpunk 2077 was delayed three times but still launched in an unready state instead of accepting another delay, and that infamously buggy release defined the game until CDPR was able to finally turn things around for the better.
- Released
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November, 2026
- ESRB
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Rating Pending – Likely Mature 17+
Source: VideoGamer
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