Rockstar flashes its wallet, says GTA 6 doesn't compromise on detail or scale: "I don't think we have ever created anything close to this before"
"As the pressure for us on this project is huge, we dealt with that by doing our best to overdeliver," says co-studio head Aaron Garbut
You've heard it said before that GTA 6 is expected to be the largest entertainment launch of all time in terms of budget and sales, but it really is hard to oversell the unprecedented scale of Rockstar's incoming juggernaut. Publisher Take-Two Interactive has likely spent an ungodly amount of money GTA 6, and if the finished product is anything less than a total disaster, you'll see that money reflected in its photorealistic, richly detailed visuals, gigantic open-world map, and lifelike physics. That said, making the biggest game ever comes with proportionately seismic expectations, and Rockstar isn't content with simply meeting them.
"As the pressure for us on this project is huge, we dealt with that by doing our best to overdeliver," Rockstar's head of development and co-studio head Aaron Garbut tells Game Informer. "Normally you compromise scale for detail or detail for interaction, but with this project we went the other way – everything is dialed up – detail, scope, breadth, scale, interaction and density. I don't think we have ever created anything close to this before."
Of course, it's worth acknowledging the extremely talented people at Rockstar who don't need boatloads of cash to tell compelling stories or design interesting worlds, but the technical achievement Garbut is teasing here wouldn't be possible without Take-Two money. We've yet to see what the game looks like on our living room screens or how it feels in the hands at launch, but Rockstar certainly isn't doing much to temper expectations ahead of the game's November 19 launch; instead, it's doubling down in the final weeks of pre-release build-up with a reminder that there are very few studios in the world with its pedigree, talent, and resources.
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.