Rockstar Says Its Next Game After GTA 6 Won’t Take Another Eight Years

Rockstar Games says the technology, tools, and team built for GTA 6 should help the studio release future games much faster.

A new Bloomberg feature on the development of Grand Theft Auto VI has revealed several details about how Rockstar operates today and what the studio plans to do after GTA 6.

One of the most interesting points is that Rockstar does not expect its next major release to take another eight years to develop.

Rockstar Has Nearly Doubled in Size

When Red Dead Redemption 2 launched in 2018, Rockstar had around 2,441 employees.

Today, the company has grown to approximately 4,711 people across 12 offices, making it significantly larger than it was during development of its previous major title.

Much of that workforce is currently focused on GTA 6, although teams also continue supporting GTA Online, Red Dead Online, and other Rockstar projects.

Rockstar also rejected rumors that GTA 6 cost more than the roughly $1.5 billion required to build the Burj Khalifa, although the company still has not revealed the game’s actual budget.

GTA 6 Is Meant to Be a Foundation for What Comes Next

According to Rockstar North development lead Phil Hooker, the studio has spent years building new technology, tools, and development pipelines for GTA 6.

The company now wants to reuse that foundation instead of rebuilding everything from scratch for its next project.

Hooker said the engine, tools, and team created during GTA 6 development should allow Rockstar to work faster in the future.

Rockstar veteran Aaron Garbut made a similar point, explaining that the studio fundamentally changed many parts of its technology during GTA 6 development, but those major changes are now complete.

That means the next game can potentially build on top of what already exists.

Don’t Expect Another 13-Year Gap

GTA 6 arrives 13 years after GTA 5, while Rockstar’s last major new game, Red Dead Redemption 2, launched eight years earlier.

Rockstar’s leadership says it does not want another development cycle that long.

That does not mean the studio has announced GTA 7, Red Dead Redemption 3, or any other specific game.

It also does not mean the next Rockstar release will arrive quickly.

But the company believes the foundation created for GTA 6 should allow future games and content to be produced more efficiently.

Rockstar Wants to Build More, Not Start Over

The key difference is that GTA 6 appears to be more than just one game for Rockstar.

It is also a huge technological foundation the company can continue expanding.

Rather than completely rebuilding its engine and development tools again, Rockstar hopes future projects can grow from the systems already created for GTA 6.

So while nobody knows what Rockstar’s next game will be yet, one thing seems clear:

the studio does not want fans waiting another 13 years for it.