Bloomberg's reporter spent a day in Rob Nelson's office at Rockstar North. On camera with TGG he made a sales call, admitted crunch happened and described the new hangout buttons.
The short version
Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier told YouTuber TGG on 17 October that GTA 6 is going to sell like 20 million copies on its first day. It is his own guess, not a Take Two forecast. He also said Rockstar did not eliminate crunch, and TGG read out his newsletter's note that Jason can kiss Lucia with a button press.
Quick answer
How many copies could GTA 6 sell on day one?
GTA 6 day one sales could reach 20 million copies, Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier said in a TGG interview on 17 October. It is his own guess, not a Take Two forecast. GTA 5 took more than $800 million on its first day in 2013, which analysts put at 13 to 14 million copies.
Jason Schreier spent most of a day in development lead Rob Nelson's office at Rockstar North, the Rockstar Games studio in Edinburgh. He asked to pick up the controller. The marketing chief said no.
That visit fed his Bloomberg cover story and a follow up newsletter. On 17 October he sat down with TGG, a GTA YouTuber who also saw the game at Rockstar, for a 75 minute video that TGG posted on X with the line “Strap in, this is a big one”. Three things in it are new.
| Claim | Who says it | Status |
|---|---|---|
| About 20 million copies on day one | Jason Schreier, TGG interview | His prediction |
| GTA 5 first day retail sales over $800 million | Take Two, 18 September 2013 | Confirmed |
| GTA 5 day one copies, 13 to 14 million | Analysts via Reuters, 2013 | Estimate |
| A button to kiss Lucia, another to hold hands | Schreier's 16 October newsletter, read by TGG | Seen in a Rockstar demo |
| Crunch not eliminated on GTA 6 | Jason Schreier | His reporting |
| New GTA Online expected next year | Jason Schreier | Unannounced |
What did Jason Schreier say about GTA 6 day one sales?
Schreier said GTA 6 “is going to sell like 20 million copies on its first day”. He made the call while explaining why Rockstar sees little reason to change how quietly it talks to players.
His point was that sales will beat even high expectations, so the studio will look at the result and keep doing what works. Treat the number as one well connected reporter's guess. Take Two Interactive has not published a day one target.
For scale, Take Two said on 18 September 2013 that GTA 5 passed $800 million in first day retail sales. Analysts told Reuters that meant 13 to 14 million copies. Twenty million would be a clear step up on that.
Can you kiss Lucia in GTA 6?
Yes, according to Schreier's demo notes. TGG read a passage from the 16 October Bloomberg newsletter in which Nelson, playing as Jason, presses a button to kiss Lucia when she shows up.
Schreier described the setup himself in the interview. You text Lucia to come over, wait a few minutes and she arrives. Then the pair walked through a park, Nelson pressed another button to hold hands, and a one off conversation played that Schreier will not repeat because it spoils the story.
TGG went further. He said Jason and Lucia do not even need to be a romantic couple if you do not want them to be. Rockstar Games has not said that publicly, and nobody outside the studio has played it yet.
What else did the newsletter reveal about GTA 6 gameplay?
Money matters more than ever, the newsletter says. TGG read a line from it. “Your cash is vulnerable. We tried to make money mean more than it ever has.”
In the same demo the pair hit the gym, checked a bank and passed because of the guards, then paid cash into an ATM. Nelson also disarmed an alarm in a back office and took money without anyone noticing. The newsletter quotes “hundreds” of small interiors you can explore.
A planned trip to the salon went wrong when Nelson ran into some unfriendly pedestrians and a brawl broke out. Someone called the police, who knew they were looking for a couple, so splitting up helps you escape. Our Bloomberg report breakdown covers the bigger story behind these details.
Did Rockstar crunch on GTA 6?
Yes, some staff did. “I would definitely not say that they eliminated crunch on this project,” Schreier told TGG, though he added that he has not spoken to all 4,700 employees.
He credits two changes. Extra hours now earn paid time off, and in some cases people who pass a threshold of hours get extra pay. He has also heard of no team being ordered into months of 60 hour weeks, which Bloomberg says many staff worked on Red Dead Redemption 2.
During his office tour, he saw Rockstar's bug tracking board. It showed “a lot more green than red”, he said, which made him think there would be no third delay.
When is the new GTA Online coming out?
Rockstar has not announced it. Schreier said he thinks the new version is expected next year but has no release date, and agreed with TGG that “technically, it's unannounced still.”
He also said Rockstar sees GTA 6 as a foundation it plans to keep building on, though he does not know whether that means story expansions, online updates or both. Until launch on 19 November, that is as far as anyone outside the studio can go. Reviews are reported to land first, and our GTA 6 review timing story explains when.
Frequently asked questions
How many copies will GTA 6 sell on day one?
Nobody knows yet. Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier guessed in a TGG interview on 17 October 2026 that it will sell like 20 million copies on its first day. Take Two has given no unit forecast.
How much did GTA 5 sell on day one?
More than $800 million at retail worldwide, Take Two said on 18 September 2013. Analysts told Reuters at the time that this meant about 13 to 14 million copies.
Can you kiss Lucia in GTA 6?
Yes, according to Jason Schreier. His 16 October Bloomberg newsletter, read out by TGG, says Rob Nelson pressed a button to kiss Lucia when she arrived and another to hold hands in a park.
Did Rockstar crunch on GTA 6?
Some staff did. Jason Schreier told TGG he would definitely not say Rockstar eliminated crunch, though extra hours now earn paid time off and, past a threshold, extra pay.
When does the new GTA Online come out?
Rockstar has not announced it. Jason Schreier told TGG he thinks the new version is expected next year, but there is no release date.
Sources
- TGG on YouTube: NEW INFO, Inside the Development of GTA 6, interview with Jason Schreier (17 Oct 2026)
- TGG on X: Strap in, this is a big one (17 Oct 2026)
- Bloomberg newsletter: Behind the scenes of Grand Theft Auto VI, by Jason Schreier (16 Oct 2026)
- Bloomberg Businessweek: The Making of Grand Theft Auto VI, by Jason Schreier
- Take Two Interactive: Grand Theft Auto V retail sales exceed $800 million worldwide during first day of launch (18 Sep 2013, SEC filing)
- Reuters: Take Two's GTA V posts $800 mln in first day sales (18 Sep 2013)
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