Rockstar Games compared the development budget of Grand Theft Auto VI with the construction cost of the tallest building in the world—the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai. According to the company, creating the new installment in the series cost slightly less than erecting the famous tower, which took around $1.5 billion.
One of the main reasons for such high expenses was the expansion of the Rockstar Games staff. The company now employs more than 4,700 people—almost twice as many as when development of GTA VI began. Maintaining such a team over several years requires substantial financial investments.
Additional costs stem from the scale of the project itself. Grand Theft Auto VI will feature a massive open world based on a fictionalized version of Miami and its surrounding areas. Creating such an environment demands a large amount of resources, especially given modern graphics and performance standards.
Another factor was the duration of development. GTA VI will be released 13 years after the launch of the previous numbered installment in the series.
However, the company can afford such investments thanks to the commercial success of the franchise. Over its entire history, the Grand Theft Auto series has sold around 500 million copies. Grand Theft Auto V alone accounts for roughly 230 million copies sold.