On October 14, 2026, Bloomberg published a feature about the making of GTA VI. Its main takeaway, as other outlets report it, is that Rockstar expects its next game to arrive faster than the long gap after GTA VI. The viral "employee absenteeism" and "$1 billion" stories are a different thing: they did not come from that feature. We could not open Bloomberg, because it blocks automated readers, so everything below about the feature comes from NME, GameSpot, Kotaku and Dot Esports, checked on October 14, 2026.
Key takeaways
- The Bloomberg feature is about how GTA VI was made, including delays, scale and what Rockstar learned.
- Reports say Rockstar leaders expect the new engine, tools and team to speed up future games. No next game or date was announced.
- The employee absenteeism and $1 billion lost productivity numbers are unverified estimates. We found no sign that they come from Bloomberg.
- Officially, GTA VI launches November 19, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
- Reports of the feature say nothing new about PC or online. Both are not confirmed.
1. What the Bloomberg feature is reported to say
Kotaku says the piece is based on interviews with Rockstar development leads Rob Nelson, Phil Hooker and Aaron Garbut. NME also names Jennifer Kolbe, Rockstar's head of publishing. Kotaku lists the topics as delays, union-busting accusations, leaks over the years, the game's scale and how the studio plans to use this experience later. Here is how the four outlets describe the main points.
| Point | As reported | Reported by |
|---|---|---|
| Faster future games | Hooker says the engine, tools and team built for this project let Rockstar work more quickly | NME, GameSpot, Kotaku, Dot Esports |
| "Sideways, not upwards" | Hooker says Rockstar can build on this work to make more content, rather than start again | GameSpot, Kotaku |
| Foundations kept | Garbut says a lot was changed at the base level, and the team will not tear it apart now | NME, Kotaku, Dot Esports |
| Old precedent | GTA Vice City came less than a year after GTA III, because it reused earlier work | GameSpot, Kotaku, Dot Esports |
| Los Angeles studio | A new studio was set up to build the game's non-player characters | NME, Dot Esports |
| Miami trips | Developers made several research trips to Miami for the Vice City feel | NME |
| Staff numbers | 2,441 staff around Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018), now 4,711 across 12 offices | GameSpot, Dot Esports |
What "faster" does and does not mean
GameSpot points out that Rockstar has not announced its next major game, and the comments do not confirm that the next GTA will come quickly. Dot Esports raises the idea of a game every four to five years, but only as a question. Kotaku adds its own view that new Rockstar games in 2027 are unlikely. That is opinion, not Bloomberg. So the safe reading is: Rockstar says the wait should not be as long as before, with no date and no number of years confirmed.
Sales numbers in the coverage
Dot Esports says analysts cited by Bloomberg expect about 40 million copies on PlayStation and Xbox and more than $3 billion in its first four months. These are analyst forecasts, not Rockstar or Take-Two figures. The same outlet reports that GTA V has sold 230 million copies and that the first trailer has nearly 300 million YouTube views.
2. The viral absenteeism and $1 billion claims
These stories are not new and they are not from Bloomberg. We read the main ones:
- TweakTown, September 1, 2026: says unnamed "economists" expect a short-term productivity drop of about 2% in the US during launch week, worth about $1 billion. It does not explain the method or name the economists.
- IBTimes, September 7, 2026: repeats a figure of 1.5 million US workers taking the day off and calls it unverified. It traces the roughly $1 billion number to a Spanish radio report from July 2025, in which an economics professor talked about who might stay home. He did not give a national count.
Neither article mentions Bloomberg. The two reports even trace the number to different places, which is a good reason to stay careful. We searched for a Bloomberg report on GTA VI absenteeism and found none. Treat the 1.5 million and $1 billion numbers as unverified estimates, not as official labor data. Search interest in "bloomberg gta 6" and "gta 6 release employee absenteeism" is probably a mix-up of these two separate stories.
3. What is officially confirmed
| Topic | Status on Oct 14, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Release date | Confirmed: November 19, 2026 |
| Platforms | Confirmed: PS5 and Xbox Series X|S |
| PC version | Not confirmed. NME says no PC date is confirmed |
| GTA Online for GTA VI | Not confirmed. NME says there is no launch date |
| Rockstar's next game | Not announced |
| Absenteeism or $1 billion figure | Not confirmed, not from Rockstar or Bloomberg as far as we can find |
For PC, read GTA 6 PC release: what is confirmed. For earlier delays, see what Rockstar actually said about the delay.
Thinking of taking time off?
The absenteeism stories may make it sound like everyone will call in sick. Please do not copy that. Skipping work or school without permission can cost you, and your boss or school will not care about a headline. Ask for the day early, use leave you already have, and check your school or job rules. Our launch week work, school and time off guide explains how to ask honestly. The game is also rated for mature players, so younger readers should check with a parent or guardian first.
Common mistakes when reading this news
- Mixing up the Bloomberg feature with the absenteeism estimates.
- Reading "faster than eight years" as "a new game next year". No date exists.
- Treating analyst forecasts as Rockstar numbers.
- Trusting a headline without opening the article behind it.
- Assuming a PC version or Online details were revealed. Reports say they were not.
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すべて見る →Next steps
Follow confirmed updates in our GTA 6 hub and the news page. We will update this page if Bloomberg's text becomes readable to us or if Rockstar adds details.
