![]() ![]() Some speculate the total cost of development and marketing for GTA 6 could be in the $2bn (£1.6bn) range. Of course, the price tag went on to be plenty worth it, accounting for that $8bn it's made since.įor as expensive as Grand Theft Auto V was to create, game-industry analysts are betting that Rockstar Games is going in even bigger this time around. At the time of its development, GTA 5 was one of the most expensive games ever made, with a budget of $265m (£212m). Now, this is more the norm, with nearly all major games built within a free-form, open world – but at the time, GTA's approach was a huge innovation.Ĭreating this ground-breaking type of game has been expensive for Rockstar Games. Rather than following a linear storyline or trajectory, players could spend hours simply wandering around and exploring the world within the game. Those improvements were on display with GTA 3's innovative and ground-breaking game-play, which propelled it from a novelty to an absolute must play. Video-game development grew by leaps and bounds from the late 90s through the early 2000s. It's so large and so varied that even fractions of it are larger than whole parallel industries like movies."Įxperts identify the release of 2001's Grand Theft Auto III as a turning point for the game's massive popularity. "The games industry is simply massive globally, and is no single genre or platform. If it maintains the same slice of the pie, it's going to be big, because it will come from a bigger pie," he says. "The brand is as strong or stronger than it was before, but additionally the game industry is larger. ![]() ![]() This overall global industry growth stands to boost GTA 6's revenue potential once it hits the market, says Williams. HBO's The Last of Us series (based on the 2013 Sony game) pulled in more than 4.7 million viewers for its premiere alone while the Super Mario Brothers Movie grossed $1.36bn (£1.08bn) worldwide, in addition to scoring three Golden Globe nominations – boosting Nintendo's profits to more than $1bn (£800m) for 2023. The film and television industries have also cashed in on gaming's cult fandom through licensing. The popularity of esports and free-to-play games that generate massive revenue through in-game purchases and licensing partnerships plays a big role in the astounding financial footprint as has the introduction of other blockbuster titles, which have also broadened the market. By the end of 2023, experts project revenues to reach $250bn (£199bn). The value of the video game industry is staggering. Yet despite this extremely high bar, Dmitri Williams, a gaming business expert and professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communications, in California, expects the new release to perform even better. Grand Theft Auto V holds claim to the best opening week sales in video-game history, earning $1.15bn (£1.2bn) in just five days. All told, the franchise has earned more than $8bn (£6.4bn) since 2008.Įxpectations are high for GTA 6, not only for its graphics and playability, but also for its business potential. These figures include sales of the game across multiple platforms and consoles, remastered re-releases and in-game purchases. This year, Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games, revealed that Grand Theft Auto V has sold more than 190 million copies as of September 2023, bringing the whole franchise up to 410 million units sold and a net revenue of $781m (£623m). GTA is already a wildly financially successful franchise. The teaser got huge views, dominated conversation and signalled what could be a massive pay-out for Rockstar Games as well as the companies the enable game-play, such as hardware developers and retailers. When the long-anticipated first GTA 6 trailer leaked online in early December, the surge of excitement forced developer Rockstar Games to release the official version of the trailer earlier than planned (with the game seemingly headed for a 2025 release, the prevailing notion was that fans wouldn't get that sneak peek until sometime in 2024 at the earliest). Regardless of whether you feel the game represents the worst of digital humanity, or herald its bold creativity and innovation, GTA is a pop-culture force nearly impossible to ignore. It's the first release of the game since 2013 – and to call it "wildly anticipated" in its community is a great understatement. This subject of both controversy and culture – Grand Theft Auto – is expected to make its return in 2025 with Grand Theft Auto VI, widely known as GTA 6. It's also spawned memes and a singular cult fandom. Its violence and vehicular mayhem has drawn the ire of organisations including the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the UK's Freedom from Torture organisation. It's been condemned by Britain, Germany and France. ![]()
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