10 years of GTA 6 production: “only Rockstar can afford something like that

A long development that, according to an industry veteran, is not a sign of problems.

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Following the recent clarification about the rumors of delay, the production time of Grand Theft Auto VI is once again being discussed. This time, the focus is on the project’s duration: almost ten years of development, a figure that many find hard to imagine in today’s industry.

Former senior artist at Bethesda Softworks, Nate Purkeypile, has come out to provide context, publicly defending the idea that very few studios in the world can handle such a long production cycle without compromising the final result.

A ten-year development only within Rockstar’s reach

In statements collected by Esports Insider, Purkeypile claims that Rockstar Games is practically a unique case within the industry. According to him, it’s not just about investing large amounts of money: it’s essential to have real experience with large-scale projects, stable teams, and a structure capable of maintaining a clear vision for many years.

The former Bethesda executive emphasizes that many studios have failed precisely by trying to make the leap to big productions after a single success, without being prepared to sustain such long developments. In that sense, he believes that the case of GTA 6 shouldn’t be seen as something negative, but rather as a logical consequence of the project’s size and ambition.

Purkeypile also points out that when a company decides to fund a game for a decade, it does so because it has complete confidence in its potential. And in Rockstar’s history, with releases that have marked several generations, that risk is more than calculated. For him, GTA 6 represents an exception within the interactive entertainment industry, possible only thanks to the experience accumulated by the studio in long-term productions.