Rockstar Pushes Back on Rumor GTA 6 Cost More Than $1.5 Billion to Make, but It's Still Probably the Most Expensive Video Game of All Time

Rockstar has insisted GTA 6 did not cost more than $1.5 billion to make, countering an online rumor, but it’s still probably the most expensive video game of all time.

In a sweeping report by Bloomberg into the making of GTA 6, Rockstar head of publishing Jennifer Kolbe insisted a rumor that GTA 6’s budget was more than the $1.5 billion spent on Dubai’s Burj Khalifa was wrong, although she failed to confirm the game’s exact budget. This rumor appears to have emerged from a July 2025 article by Gulf News, which claimed “Dubai's landmark is said to have cost $1.5 billion but the game is thought to have a $2 billion budget.”

Earlier this year, Business Insider suggested a $1-1.5 billion budget based on industry analyst estimations as part of an interview with Strauss Zelnick, boss of Rockstar parent company Take-Two. …