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Grand Theft Auto VI is tipped to bring in $7.6bn (£5.7 billion, converted) in a matter of weeks.
That eye-popping figure comes courtesy of investment firm Konvoy, which projects the feverishly anticipated title will recoup its estimated £1.5 billion development costs within just 30 days of launch. Rockstar Games has been working on the next entry into its record-busting Grand Theft Auto series for almost a decade, with pre-production estimated to have started as early as 2016 before the developer stated work "in earnest" back in 2020.
In the first two months, the gaming investment firm estimates that revenue will top $7.6bn (£5.7bn).
To achieve that record-breaking figure, Konvoy estimates that 85 million players will purchase the game at roughly £60 per copy in the first 60-day window. Rockstar Games has confirmed the Grand Theft Auto VI release date, but not the final cost of the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S exclusive, which some estimate could be increased to £80 — much higher than a standard video game. If those whispers are accurate, revenue could be even higher for Rockstar Games.
Konvoy Managing Partner, Josh Chapman stated: "This will be the greatest video game release of all time; shattering player, viewership, and revenue records."
Konvoy predicts that GTA VI will generate $7.6 billion in revenue in the first 60 Days of its launch (current release date: May 26, 2026)
|LINKEDIN | KONVOY
The analysis suggests this will establish the title as the most successful gaming launch in history, with revenue streams extending beyond initial sales. Online multiplayer and its GTA+ subscriptions is expected to surge in the wake of the release of Grand Theft Auto VI, bringing in a projected £510 million within the first 60 days, Konvoy estimates. The investment firm's calculations factor in these additional revenue sources when reaching the ambitious £5.7bn forecast.
Konvoy predicts Grand Theft Auto VI will offer enhanced online gameplay with lobbies accommodating up to 200 players, featuring "higher risk/reward dynamics where you can raid and steal items from players more easily."
The firm envisions user-generated content (UGC) becoming a central part of the online experience, with Josh Chapman suggesting the crime satire will "have a UGC component that includes creator payouts for server hosts, mod creators, and more (mimicking the creator economics of [Fortnite] and Roblox)."
Konvoy Managing Partner Josh Chapman shared the update on LinkedIn
|It's posible that Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick was hinting at this ever-evolving user generated content when stating there's "way more value to a consumer than whatever that consumer pays". Some took the comment to be a hint at subscription fees or other premium pricing strategies for Grand Theft Auto players.
Take-Two Interactive is the parent company for Rockstar Games.
To put the latest forecasts into perspective, the last entry into this record-breaking video game series, Grand Theft Auto V, achieved a whopping £750 million in sales within three days and has shifted over 215 million copies to date.
Grand Theft Auto VI will follow a modern-day Bonnie-and-Clyde duo in a fictional version of the US State of Florida
|ROCKSTAR GAMES | TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE
Whether it costs £60, £80, or closer to £100 ...you'll have plenty of time to save, since Grand Theft Auto VI has been delayed until May 26, 2026.
Delays have become commonplace in modern game development as studios grapple with rising production costs and growing pressure from players to deliver polished experiences at launch. At the time, Rockstar Games said it planned to use the time "to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve."
Weeks on, Strauss Zelnick shed a little more light on the reasons behind the decision.
According to the 68-year-old executive, the launch of GTA VI was delayed to ensure the team at Rockstar Games was able to "achieve its creative vision with no limitations". That sounds like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S game could have made its autumn 2025 ...albeit with a few compromises on the scale and quality.
As we get closer to completion of a title that's seeking perfection," Strauss Zelnick exclusively told IGN, "the needs, or lack thereof, for continued polish become clear.
"In this case, there was an opportunity with a small amount of incremental time, we thought, to make sure Rockstar Games achieves its creative vision with no limitations. And I supported, of course, that approach."
"And while, of course, delays pain me — how could they not?," the Take-Two Interactive executive added, "the most important thing to do is to support your teams in their search for perfection."
Quizzed by IGN on whether fans of the franchise should expect further delays to Grand Theft Auto VI before May 26, 2026, Strauss Zelnick said that wasn't likely, starting: "I think historically when we set a specific date," he noted, "generally speaking, we've been very good about reaching it."
Despite the delay to Grand Theft Auto VI, the Take-Two Interactive boss is still bullish about the games lined-up for the rest of this year, including Borderlands 4 and Mafia: The Old Country as well as new entries in long-running sports game franchises, such as NBA 2K and WWE 2K.
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Despite this confidence from its CEO, Rockstar Games parent company Take-Two Interactive saw shares tumble 9% in premarket trading in the wake of the announcement of the Grand Theft Auto VI delay. Since then, the share price has recovered and climbed to a new record high.
Grand Theft Auto VI is widely-expected to be the biggest-selling game of all time when it arrives in May 2026.
Its predecessor, Grand Theft Auto V, which first made its debut in 2013, has now sold more than 200 million copies, making it one of the best-selling video games of all time. That title still holds the crown for the best opening week of sales in video game history — raking in $1.15bn (£1.2bn) in five days.
Players will follow a couple, Jason and Lucia, in the next instalment of Grand Theft Auto, which includes the return of fictional city of Vice City for the first time since spin-off game, Vice City Stories
|ROCKSTAR GAMES | TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE
However, it's worth noting that Grand Theft Auto V has now appeared on three console generations, starting with the Xbox 360 and Sony PS3 back in September 2013.
An upgraded version of the game launched on the latest crop of video game consoles, Xbox Series X|S and Sony PS5, in March 2022 with support for 4K Ultra HD visuals, ray-tracing, 60 frames-per-second, and 3D audio.
Since its initial launch, Grand Theft Auto V has soldiered on to become the second biggest game of all-time. However, it's unlikely to take the top sport as it's still 100 million copies behind the Gold Medalist, Minecraft.
GTA 6, stylised as Grand Theft Auto VI, returns the action to the fictional city of Vice City, which is Rockstar Games' satirical version of Miami that featured in the 2002 GTA release of the same name | ROCKSTAR GAMES Earlier this year, Microsoft added Grand Theft Auto V to its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate service — a Netflix-like subscription with a rotating catalogue of games. With such strong interest in the previous entry in the long-running Grand Theft Auto franchise, some analysts predict record-breaking sales topping $3 billion in its first year alone. That record revenue could be partly attributed to a rumoured price rise for the blockbuster title.
- View Deal | Save 33% on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription
The long wait between instalments in the Grand Theft Auto franchise is an outlier in the industry, with other chart-topping series, like Call of Duty, EA Sports FC, and Pokémon, typically launching new games every year.
Summarising the bullish sentiment around the next launch from Rockstar Games, video game business expert and professor at the University of Southern California, Dmitri Williams said: "The brand is as strong or stronger than it was before, but additionally, the game industry is larger.
"If it maintains the same slice of the pie, it's going to be big, because it will come from a bigger pie. The games industry is simply massive globally, and is no single genre or platform. It's so large and so varied that even fractions of it are larger than whole parallel industries like movies."
The next instalment of the popular Grand Theft Auto series will take gamers back to Vice City, which last appeared in 2006's Vice City Stories. The developers have greatly expanded the world around this fictional city, Rockstar Games' neon-soaked take on modern-day Miami.
Grand Theft Auto VI will be set in a US state called Leonida that doubles as Florida. Expect a richly detailed world inspired by the cultural, political, and economic quirks of contemporary America, with a satirical lens sharper than ever. From influencer culture to corrupt institutions and viral internet madness, nothing is off-limits. The tone promises a return to GTA’s signature blend of dark humour and biting social commentary.
Influencer culture and real-life Floridians are all expected to be satirised in the upcoming Grand Theft Auto title, which will be set in the fictional US state of Leonida
|ROCKSTAR GAMES PRESS OFFICE
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The game features dual protagonists in a Bonnie-and-Clyde-style narrative, adding a gritty, emotional layer to the chaos. Rockstar is pushing realism, immersion, and interactivity to new heights, with smarter NPCs and a dynamic in-game economy. Yet much remains shrouded in mystery—from the full map scale to multiplayer details. But one thing’s certain: GTA VI is gearing up to be Rockstar’s boldest, most ambitious entry to date.
In the caption for the second trailer for its epic new crime-caper, Rockstar Games shared a brief summary of the plotline for Grand Theft Auto VI. It reads: "Jason and Lucia have always known the deck is stacked against them. But when an easy score goes wrong, they find themselves on the darkest side of the sunniest place in America, in the middle of a conspiracy stretching across the state of Leonida — forced to rely on each other more than ever if they want to make it out alive."
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