People compare cost of making GTA 6 versus the tallest building in the world and reveal shocking truth

The most highly-anticipated game to have ever been thought about, let alone developed, is nearly upon us.

Of course we're talking about Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA VI), which has been in production for the last seven years - with Rockstar Games concentrating on releasing Red Dead Redemption 2 before channelling its energy back on GTA.

GTA V was released back in 2013, and preliminary development for the next in the franchise started at the same time - although it's thought that script writing would have been going on even before the release of GTA V.

It is rumored to cost in the region of $1 billion and $2 billion - which for a game is crazy money.

In 2023, we reported how YouTuber INTER, who specializes in GTA content, claimed that GTA VI could cost around $1 billion in total if you take into account marketing cost. They added that the budget for the game's development alone could be at least $250 million.

However, the total budget may be even higher, as a previous leak suggested the game's budget could actually be closer to $2 billion.

Interestingly enough, over on Reddit one user shared a picture of both the Burj Khalifa, Dubai's skyscraper, and GTA VI with some statistics.

"The costs between Burj Khalifa and GTA6. Kinda crazy considering manual labour and materials costs vs an air-conditioned studio and PCs," they wrote.

But before we get into the figures, let's detail a little more about the world's tallest building in the world.

Standing at 2,717 feet, it towers over almost 1,000 feet over the biggest building in the US, which is New York City's One World Trade Center, at 1,776 feet.

Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, took less years to construct than GTA VI (FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)

So, while GTA VI has taken at least seven years in development, the Burj Khalifa incredibly took just six years to build.

It also cost $1.5 billion to construct, which if the rumors that the production of GTA VI are true, it could mean it will have cost $500 million more to build the world's tallest building in much less time than it has taken to develop the world's most anticipated game.

Crazy.

So when can we expect to play GTA VI?

The game publisher said in a statement shared to Instagram on Friday (May 2): "Grand Theft Auto VI is now set to release on May 26, 2026.

"We are very sorry that this is later than you expected. The interest and excitement surrounding a new Grand Theft Auto has been truly humbling for our entire team. We want to thank you for your support and your patience as we work to finish the game."