Bloomberg reveals why GTA 6 took more than 8 years in development - Report
(Courtesy : Rockstar Games, BLOOMBERG)
The game is finally launching on November 19, 2026
A new Bloomberg report from Jason Schreier is finally out and it tells the development story of GTA 6 and why this game took so much time to develop.
The game has gone through a long development cycle, challenges that the studio faced, leaks, COVID, multiple delays and more. Despite all this, they are finally ready to launch the game next month on November 19, 2026, for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Catch Every Update, Anytime, Anywhere
More bigger plans for GTA 6
According to the latest report, Rockstar has bigger plans for the game. They envisioned the game being spread across multiple regions in North and South America. However, this scope was too much for them and they scaled back to Vice City (Miami) and surrounding areas on Leonida.
The other factor that slowed down development was that Rockstar focused on finishing Red Dead Redemption 2, leaving GTA 6 to receive the full focus of the studio after the game’s release.
Since then, Rockstar has transformed into a much larger company. It’s said to have expanded from about 2,400 employees in 2018 to over 4,700 developers across 12 studios—with three different lead developers, Rob Nelson, Aaron Garbut and Phil Hooker, rather than one game director.
Jason and Lucia
In the report, it tells that Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos became the core protagonist in 2019. The developers have spent years on how the characters interact with each other.
Unlike previous games, players can spend time with both characters outside of the story mission. Jason can text Lucia, arrange meetups and explore the open world together.
Rockstar claims that interacting in this manner was a key innovation for GTA 6, and took years of AI research.
Another very important feature in the studio was the development of more believable NPCs.
NPCs don’t just converge on the streets like everyone else; they respond to players’ moves and behaviors and trigger unscripted events that naturally flow into new opportunities.
Delays, leaks and future Rockstar games
According to the report, it was not just a single technical problem that caused the delays of GTA 6; it was the sheer scale of the task of blending together so many different systems of gameplay. Rockstar decided to delay the game rather than make an acceptable compromise with their quality aims.
The COVID-19 pandemic, the huge 2022 gameplay leak, another security breach in 2026 and the implementation of new Rockstar office policy (which required staff to work in the office due to security concerns) also disrupted development.
Rockstar is said to have increased hiring, enhanced schedules and even provided extra pay and time off for overtime to avoid the “crunch culture” that was the subject of criticism in the development of Red Dead Redemption 2.
They have also debunked the rumors about the game costing $1.5-2 billion in development. Rockstar believes that GTA 6 will serve as the technical foundation for future games. The future titles won’t take too much time in development like GTA VI.
Why did GTA 6 take more than eight years to develop?
According to Bloomberg, GTA VI’s lengthy development was due to its massive scope, Red Dead Redemption 2 taking priority, COVID-19 disruptions, multiple gameplay system overhauls, and Rockstar’s focus on delivering a polished experience.
What are GTA 6’s biggest new gameplay features?
The report highlights dynamic NPC behavior, natural interactions between Jason and Lucia, advanced AI systems, and an open world designed to create unscripted gameplay through overlapping events.
Was GTA 6 originally planned to be bigger?
Yes. Rockstar initially planned to include large parts of North and South America before scaling the project back to Vice City and surrounding regions to maintain quality.
For more updates, follow Khel Now Gaming on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Telegram & Whatsapp.