How Long Have Some Rockstar Artists Worked on GTA 6?
Independent fan coverage and commentary — this site is not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.
Independent fan coverage and commentary. This site is not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive. If Rockstar says something different from what is here, its word counts, not ours. Cover image: Rockstar Games.
GTA V reached shelves on September 17, 2013, so GTA 6 is set to arrive on November 19, over 13 years later. That wait is a number on a calendar, but somebody spent it at a desk. Per GTA Intel, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier posted an 18-minute video on October 19 with details that did not fit his written feature. Coverage centers on three things: artists’ years on the game, the weapon wheel and the Extended Look idea.
Official: the November 19 date and the Extended Look, both on Rockstar’s GTA VI site. Reported: everything about artists, team sizes, the weapon wheel and the Extended Look’s origin, secondhand through GTA Intel, Khel Now, Dexerto and Notebookcheck. We have not watched the video, and we found no Rockstar statement on these points. All of it is reported by outlets covering the video; Rockstar has confirmed none of it. See also our earlier piece on Schreier’s Bloomberg reporting.
Some Artists Reportedly Have 11+ Years on One Game
GTA Intel and Khel Now report that some Rockstar artists have now been on GTA 6 for more than 11 years. GTA Intel adds that the work started with the map and calls them map artists, while Khel Now says developers. We found no count of how many people that covers in either. By our arithmetic, more than 11 years in late 2026 traces back to about two years after GTA V launched, or earlier.
The crew grew around them. GTA Intel says the art production team on GTA V was five or six people and is 65 on GTA 6. Khel Now says roughly five to six artists on certain production tasks, growing to 65 developers. Both describe 65 as the art production team, so it is the size of that team, not of Rockstar. Khel Now says the larger team improved productivity and spread the workload.
Rockstar Reportedly Went Back to the Weapon Wheel
Dexerto, Notebookcheck and GTA Intel report Schreier saying Rockstar tested alternatives to the weapon wheel for “months, if not years”. Trays, webs and no wheel at all were among the ideas, according to GTA Intel and Dexerto. Notebookcheck says the aim was a more grounded system in the style of Red Dead Redemption 2, and GTA Intel describes a limited loadout. After all that testing, Dexerto and GTA Intel say the final game has a weapon wheel again.
Dexerto adds a reason: developers worried that keeping GTA V’s wheel would leave players staring at empty slots. That is one outlet, so we hold it loosely. Notebookcheck says the developers could not find anything that worked as well. The reports do not say whether the final wheel matches GTA V’s. In our opinion, a wheel is something players already know how to use, and one that survived that much testing has earned its place.
Rockstar reportedly tested alternatives to the weapon wheel for “months, if not years.”
Read next: Why a Rockstar Boss Spent 2 Hours Not Doing His Mission, GTA 6 Reportedly Sweats the Small Stuff. Where’s the Line? and Will Your GTA V Getaway Habits Survive GTA 6?
Who Is Credited With the Extended Look Idea
Officially, Rockstar’s GTA VI site lists An Extended Look under August 27, 2026, with a runtime of 26:48 and a Netflix link. Reported by GTA Intel and Khel Now: the Extended Look itself was the idea of Mark Adamson, Rockstar’s head of marketing. GTA Intel ties the claim to Schreier’s video; Khel Now does not name a source for it. Neither report quotes Adamson, so they name an author without saying how it was decided.
The Extended Look runs about 27 minutes, short next to years of work. Per GTA Intel, the GTA 6 art production team went from five or six people on GTA V to 65. GTA Intel and Khel Now both say some artists spent more than 11 years on the game. If the date holds, launch day will be our first chance to explore the world those artists reportedly started on, so a slow first lap seems fair.
Which small detail in a game do you think someone spent years on without you ever noticing?
