In a recent interview, Take-Two’s CEO opened up about AI usage in GTA 6. However, according to Strauss Zelnick, generative AI not only didn’t help the development of Grand Theft Auto 6, but it might not have had any benefit at all.
GTA 6 Apparently Didn’t Save Money Using AI
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick recently opened up about GTA 6’s development costs. However, the conversation got interesting when Zelnick was asked about AI being used in making the much-anticipated Grand Theft Auto sequel. The CEO revealed that AI didn’t really seem to help with the game’s development costs.
Specifically, Zelnick explained that AI hasn’t helped GTA 6 save money on its budget due to the ballooning costs to use it. “AI influence notwithstanding. We haven’t seen those costs decline yet. Maybe we will, maybe we won’t.” Although it should be pointed out that the Take-Two executive didn’t specify how much AI was actually used in the development of Grand Theft Auto 6.
Take-Two Fired Its Head of AI Before GTA 6 Launch
Where things get even more interesting is that in April 2026, Take-Two actually fired its head of AI, Luke Dicken. Strauss Zelnick has also expressed a pretty damning statement about generative AI in the past as well.
In an interview with CNBC, for example, the Take-Two executive said that generative AI wouldn’t actually be able to make hit games like GTA 6. “There is no creativity that can exist by definition in any AI model.”
GTA 6 Was Given an “Unlimited Budget” According to Take-Two CEO
The other major news to come out of this interview is that Take-Two apparently gave GTA 6 an “unlimited budget.” Yes, you read that right. When most studios are clamping down on expenses, Strauss Zelnick revealed that Grand Theft Auto 6 actually had no ceiling for its costs. This is pretty unheard of by today’s industry standards.
As for why Take-Two gave GTA 6 seemingly unlimited funds, Zelnick explained it was so the game could reach “perfection” when it launches in November 2026. “We have the most amazing creative teams. We not only encourage them to pursue their passions, we insist that they do it. We try to give them unlimited financial, creative, and human resources and then they aim to deliver perfection.”
In terms of how much Take-Two has specifically spent on Grand Theft Auto 6, we don’t have official numbers. However, various reports claim that the GTA 6 budget ranges from 1 billion to 1.5 billion dollars. No, you didn’t misread that! If true, those numbers are pretty staggering. Then again, it also isn’t too surprising given the massive success of GTA V.
Despite launching over a decade ago in 2013, Grand Theft Auto 5 has continued to be one of the most profitable games of all time. According to reports, GTA 5 has specifically made around 10 billion in revenue as of early 2026. So yeah, Take-Two spending 10% of its previous game’s profits isn’t actually that far-fetched.
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