A recent Bloomberg investigation detailed how Rockstar Games initially envisioned a far broader GTA 6 during early planning in 2015. A small team visited Miami that year to shape the project under the working title Project Americas, with intentions to cover extensive territories across both North and South America. The scope later narrowed to focus on a recreation of Miami and surrounding regions within a fictionalized version of Florida known as Leonida.
The finalized map will exceed the size of Red Dead Redemption II’s world by threefold, incorporating multiple districts such as Vice City, Leonida Keys, Grassrivers, Port Gellhorn, Ambrosia, and Mount Kalaga. This expansion reflects Rockstar’s emphasis on geographic breadth, though the condensed setting remains rooted in a stylized interpretation of Southern Florida.
Early development plans had GTA 6 progressing alongside Red Dead Redemption II, with shared resources intended to accelerate both projects. However, as Red Dead’s ambitions grew, leadership redirected staff toward its completion in 2018, pushing GTA 6’s timeline back by several years. Rob Nelson, a Rockstar executive, noted that concurrent development across studios had shifted to a sequential workflow, where teams finish one title before advancing to the next.
The report also addressed speculation about GTA 6’s budget, with Rockstar confirming that claims of a $1.5 billion development cost were inaccurate. Pre-sale figures show $600 million in revenue to date, with projections suggesting total earnings could reach $2 billion prior to launch.
Originally slated for 2025, the release was first delayed to May 2026, then to November 19, 2026. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick expressed skepticism about the second delay during a public comment, asking Rockstar to verify the timeline. The game is set to launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, though further postponements remain possible.

