A frequently repeated GTA VI claim is that Rockstar Games has been developing the game continuously since 2014. The original source most often cited is a July 2022 report from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, which stated that early work on the next Grand Theft Auto began in 2014, while the project entered full production in 2020 after Red Dead Redemption 2 shipped.
That is a meaningful distinction. The report is credible journalism, but Rockstar Games has not publicly released a detailed GTA VI production timeline, project scope document, or staffing history. So the “2014” date should be treated as an unconfirmed report about early development, not proof that the entire studio spent more than a decade building the GTA VI players will eventually receive.
It matters because the claim routinely gets used to support all kinds of extra assumptions: that GTA VI must contain every rumored feature, that a delay proves the game is in trouble, or that Rockstar has had unlimited time to perfect every system. None of those conclusions follow from the reported timeline.
What Bloomberg originally reported
Bloomberg’s 2022 article covered changes to Rockstar’s workplace culture and reported on the state of GTA VI development. Its key timeline detail was straightforward: the next Grand Theft Auto was said to have begun early work in 2014, with full production beginning in 2020.
“Early work” can mean many things in a game studio. A small group may research a setting, test technical ideas, write early story concepts, build prototypes, or plan tools years before a project becomes the main assignment for hundreds or thousands of developers. Full production generally means the project has a much broader team and is actively building the game’s content, systems, art, audio, missions, and supporting technology.
That distinction is especially important for Rockstar. Red Dead Redemption 2 launched in 2018 and was a huge production in its own right. It is entirely plausible that GTA VI concepts existed while substantial Rockstar resources were still committed elsewhere. It is not evidence that GTA VI was content-complete, feature-locked, or receiving the same level of studio-wide attention from 2014 onward.
What Rockstar has officially confirmed
Rockstar has confirmed that GTA VI is in development and has published official trailers and information through its GTA VI website. Those official materials establish the game’s Vice City and Leonida setting, as well as protagonists Jason and Lucia.
Rockstar has not, however, publicly confirmed the 2014 early-development date or the 2020 full-production date. It also has not published a breakdown of which teams worked on GTA VI at particular points, when its major systems were finalized, or how much work was restarted as the project evolved.
That lack of official detail does not automatically make Bloomberg’s reporting wrong. It simply sets the boundary between what has been reported and what Rockstar itself has put on the record.
Rumor credibility: higher confidence, still unconfirmed
Confidence level: Higher confidence, still unconfirmed.
The source here is not an anonymous repost, a supposed insider screenshot, or a social-media account attaching dramatic text to a trailer frame. Bloomberg is an established outlet, and Jason Schreier has a long track record reporting on game development using industry sources. The article also gave a specific, internally coherent distinction between early work and full production rather than offering a vague “GTA VI has been worked on forever” claim.
Still, readers should keep one limitation in mind: the underlying sourcing and internal project records are not public. Rockstar has not independently confirmed the dates. That means the report deserves more weight than a typical GTA rumor, but it should not be upgraded into an official timeline.
Why the claim keeps resurfacing
The development timeline becomes relevant whenever players debate GTA VI’s scope, its release schedule, or whether a particular feature “should” be present. A reported 2014 start date sounds like a simple measure of development time, but modern AAA production is not a stopwatch.
Big games change direction. New console hardware arrives. Studios create and replace internal tools. Online plans expand. Scripts and missions are revised. Teams move between projects. Some work becomes the foundation of the final game; some becomes a prototype that never ships.
For that reason, using “twelve years in development” as a promise of a specific map size, frame rate, PC feature set, interior count, or modding capability is a mistake. The Bloomberg report did not make any of those promises.
What this could mean for GTA VI players and creators
For players, the report mainly supports a sensible expectation: GTA VI is likely the result of long-term planning plus a later period of intensive production. That is normal for a flagship Rockstar release. It does not tell us whether every individual mechanic will be deep, whether launch performance will meet every preference, or how quickly new official content will arrive.
For PC players, mod developers, and future roleplay communities, the timeline is even less predictive. A long development period does not confirm a PC launch date, official mod tools, FiveM compatibility, server access, or file formats. Those are separate technical and business decisions that need direct confirmation from Rockstar, Take-Two, or Cfx.re.
There is still a practical lesson for creators coming from GTA V and FiveM: large projects tend to evolve, and assumptions made from early footage or old reports can age badly. Keep reusable source files organized, document your workflows, and avoid building plans around features Rockstar has not announced. It is less glamorous than a giant speculation board, but it saves serious headaches later.
Do not turn a reported date into a feature checklist
The responsible reading of Bloomberg’s report is narrow. It indicates that GTA VI may have had an early-development phase beginning in 2014 and entered full production in 2020. It does not establish that development was uninterrupted, that every Rockstar studio worked on the game for the entire period, or that any particular rumored feature is real.
That nuance is worth protecting. GTA VI has no shortage of claims attached to it already, and a credible report can quickly become misleading when people add conclusions the original reporting never made.
If you want a place to compare notes without treating every viral post as fact, browse the available mod downloads and create a free account to join the SixMods Community Forums.
Editor’s note: This article discusses unconfirmed reports, rumors, or alleged leaks. The information may be incomplete, inaccurate, or subject to change. Unless expressly identified as an official announcement, it has not been confirmed by Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.
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