Obbe Vermeij, a former technical director at Rockstar Games, has indicated that the development cost for the next installment in the Grand Theft Auto series, potentially Grand Theft Auto VII, might be less expensive compared to Grand Theft Auto VI. He posits that with the advancement of artificial intelligence technologies, a significant portion of the labor-intensive tasks involved in creating game worlds and cutscenes will become automated. Vermeij shared this view during an interview on the KIWI TALKZ podcast.
According to Vermeij, AI is expected to take over a substantial number of tasks previously performed manually within the next five years, particularly concerning art assets, environment modeling, and other elements of visual design. He noted that these changes would reduce the necessity for large teams of artists and contribute to lower production costs. This is the basis for his hypothesis that GTA VII will be cheaper to develop, regardless of its potential scale.
Nevertheless, Vermeij himself conceded that verifying the accuracy of his prediction will require a considerable amount of time, perhaps as long as 15 years. He also emphasized that Grand Theft Auto VI, given its extensive reliance on traditional “manual” development methods and its immense scale, is likely to retain its status as the most expensive game ever created.