Rockstar has never officially confirmed when development on GTA 6 began. The earliest concrete sign of work came in 2014, when Rockstar North registered a trademark for the game’s name. Industry reports from 2020 suggested the project entered full production around 2018, after Red Dead Redemption 2 shipped in October 2018. That matches the studio’s pattern of focusing all hands on one title at a time.
So the honest range is roughly eight to twelve years of total work, depending on how you count pre-production. The game was announced with Trailer 1 on December 4, 2023, and is set to release on November 19, 2026. If full production started in 2018, that’s an eight-year development cycle, longer than GTA V’s five years (2008-2013) or Red Dead Redemption 2’s eight years (2010-2018).
Keep in mind that Rockstar has never confirmed the 2018 start date. What is confirmed: the 2023 announcement, the 2025 delay to May 26, 2026, and the final date of November 19, 2026. Anything before that is reported, not official.