Will Grand Theft Auto 6 be worth the wait? Take-Two thinks so

Grand Theft Auto 6 is easily the most anticipated game of the current year. Being the sequel to one of the most successful games of all time, Grand Theft Auto 5, it’s only natural that players will be anxiously awaiting the game.

However, with so many people expecting so much from Rockstar to deliver, will Grand Theft Auto 6 be able to deliver? Today, we’re here to delve into just how much Grand Theft Auto 6 must achieve to be a success. Additionally, we’ll also highlight all the known steps the game’s developers are taking to capitalize on the hype and deliver a game that will last players the entire decade.

So, without further ado, here’s whether GTA 6 will be worth the wait and what Take-Two’s boss says about fans waiting.

Grand Theft Auto 6 wins big at The Game Awards

Before anything we want to highlight the amount of hype Grand Theft Auto 6 has riding on its release. GTA 6’s announcement trailer, which dropped on December 6, 2023, amassed a total of 93 million views in 24 hours. This resulted in the game breaking the record for the most-viewed non-music YouTube video in 24 hours, already showcasing how many fans are looking forward to it.

This isn’t the only record GTA 6 broke, as another disappointing record has also been broken by the game. We’re talking about the biggest gap between the first and second trailers of a Rockstar game as of December 6, 2024. While fans haven’t gotten another proper look at the game, especially since the infamous gameplay leaks were of terrible quality and from an early build, that doesn’t mean the hype has died.

The Game Awards took place on December 13, 2024. During this event, Grand Theft Auto 6 competed and won against Death Stranding 2 and Monster Hunter Wilds for the title of Most Anticipated Game. If this doesn’t perfectly reflect how many worldwide fans are waiting for the game then nothing will.

Big budget? No problem

Rockstar Games has produced some of the most profitable games ever. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the budget for their Golden Goose franchise would be high. However, not even the studio’s most loyal fans could have predicted just how high the budget for Grand Theft Auto 6 could be.

According to leaks, Grand Theft Auto 6’s budget is somewhere around the $2 billion mark. To put things into perspective, the most expensive game of all time currently is Genshin Impact, which has spent over $900 million. That too, in the span of multiple years since miHoYo’s gacha game is a live service that gets constant development through updates.

To develop a game that costs around double that of the current most expensive game would likely make for a record that no studio will break any time soon. With that being said, there’s no confirmation that GTA 6’s budget is actually this high, as everything is based on leaks and speculations.

However, Grand Theft Auto 6 has been in development since 2014, just a couple of months after GTA 5 came out. With the cost of paying staff and the marketing that hasn’t even properly started yet, we have no doubt that Rockstar Games will pay a pretty penny by the time GTA 6 comes out. However, if there’s a game that can make a profit despite such a high expense number, it’s a mainline Grand Theft Auto game.

Take Two’s CEO claims the wait will be worth it

Now, Rockstar Games may not have released more trailers for GTA 6, but that can’t stop the studio’s representatives from teasing the game. In an interview with the YouTuber Conner Mather, Take-Two Interactive’s CEO Strauss Zelnick had a few choice words to say about the upcoming game.

Naturally, the CEO remained tight-lipped when it came to concrete details about the game, including its release date and setting. However, that didn’t stop the YouTuber from getting some opinion-fueled words from the interviewee. When asked to say a couple of words about the game, Zelnick stated GTA 6 is “extraordinary” and “breathtaking” and, perhaps the most important, “worth waiting for.”

While fans didn’t quite get what they were hoping for out of this interview, which is some actual facts about the game, the CEO’s confidence in the game does give some reassurance. The fact that no representative for the game was there to accept GTA 6’s award for the Most Anticipated Game of 2025 raised some questions from fans. To be more specific, some were claiming Rockstar didn’t have any hope in the game, though Zelnick put those thoughts to rest.

Will GTA 6 be delayed?

Grand Theft Auto 6 has been in development for over 10 years at this point, and Rockstar hasn’t shown fans any concrete gameplay. With the initial 2025 release date, some fans wonder whether the studio will be able to make true to its promise or if GTA 5 will be delayed to early or even late 2026.

It’s important to note that Take-Two Interactive confirmed in its Q1 2025 earnings report that GTA 6’s PlayStation and Xbox releases weren’t delayed to 2026. However, that may only be to appeal to shareholders, especially since Rockstar isn’t the type of studio to delay its mainline games.

The biggest worry most fans have is that while Grand Theft Auto 6 is slated to come out in less than a year, the studio hasn’t shown players any proper gameplay. Additionally, marketing for such a big game should, in theory, take multiple years to build up the required hype. Releasing the trailer so early and then not capitalizing on the hype could result in something similar to Elder Scrolls 6, which has already lost most of the initial hype it had when announced.

Ultimately, we have no doubt that Grand Theft Auto 6 will be a huge game, arguably the biggest in the year it comes out. However, fans have much more choice compared to when GTA 5 came out, and if Rockstar doesn’t deliver some proper marketing for the game now, then it might lose some crucial fan interest that may eventually affect how the game financially performs.