Rockstar leaders tell Bloomberg their next game won't take as long as GTA VI

Rockstar's studio leaders say the game after Grand Theft Auto VI should not take as long to make. They spoke on the record for a Bloomberg feature on the making of GTA VI, published October 14. We could not open Bloomberg's article, so the quotes below come from other outlets' coverage of it.

Phil Hooker and Aaron Garbut, who lead development, said the groundwork laid for GTA VI carries forward. "The engine, the tools and the team we've built during this project will allow us to do things more quickly," Hooker said, as quoted by VGC. Garbut said the studio changed a great deal at a foundational level during the project and is "not going to rip it apart" now.

For players, this is a statement of intent, not a schedule. Neither man named the next project or gave a timeline.

Other on-record comments

• The release date: Hooker said the date moved once it was clear some parts of the game would not be ready. "We could hit that schedule, but it won't be the game we want to make," he said, per ComicBook.com.
• The 2022 leak: Garbut told Bloomberg it felt like "somebody's wading through your dirty washing," Vice reported.
• Cost: Head of publishing Jennifer Kolbe dismissed a rumor that GTA VI cost more to make than Dubai's Burj Khalifa, which ComicBook.com puts at about $1.5 billion. She did not give a number.

According to ComicBook.com's account of the feature, Bloomberg reported that Rockstar had 2,441 employees in 2018 and 4,711 across 12 offices as of August. Bloomberg's own reporting on the online mode is in our multiplayer post. GTA VI launches on November 19, 2026.