GTA 6’s protracted development has seen Rockstar Games more than double in size since its last major release, Red Dead Redemption 2, according to a new report.
Dazed published an early look at an in-depth chat with several Rockstar leaders who examined the making of GTA 6. It notes that Rockstar’s global network of offices now includes a Los Angeles, California branch “dedicated almost solely” to pedestrian NPCs in GTA 6.
Other specialist GTA 6 staff include professional drivers and street artists consulted for cars and murals, says Dazed.
“We look back at our previous games with a critical eye and see where we want to evolve based on what we didn’t do as well as we would have liked to, either because we didn’t have the time, resources or technological capabilities, or in some cases things we just didn’t do as well or consider as fully as we could have,” says Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson. “A lot of what we do is very iterative – we adjust a lot of things by feel based on what is working and what isn’t.”
Though GTA 5 and GTA Online are its big breadwinners, Red Dead Redemption 2, also a commercial monolith, is still widely regarded as Rockstar’s most ambitious game. Even in 2018, it was a rare combination of scope and attention to detail – the kind of blood-from-stone production that only a company of this size could even attempt.
Thousands of developers have contributed to GTA 6 in some form, with its development budget, primarily consisting of wages paid, estimated to top $1 billion. The Rockstar LA example is illustrative: entire, sizable studios have fewer people than individual departments behind GTA 6.
Earlier today, Rockstar acknowledged the string of leaks that’s preceded GTA 6’s Netflix reveal trailer. “It has taken longer than we wanted to get it ready, but as with everything we do, we know we need to exceed your expectations, and we are determined to deliver at the level you expect and deserve,” it wrote.