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Before GTA 6, GTA: San Andreas Turned a Reported $10 Million Budget Into a $600 Million Sales Estimate

The $600 million estimate is for GTA: San Andreas: a reported 12 million-plus sales multiplied by an assumed $50 price. It is not confirmed revenue or profit, and it does not reveal GTA 6’s budget.
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The $600 million figure is an estimate for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, not Grand Theft Auto V or GTA 6. GamesRadar derived it by multiplying a reported 12 million-plus copies sold by the game’s $50 base price. That is a rough gross sales-value calculation—not confirmed revenue to Rockstar or Take-Two, and not profit. The reported budget for Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was also under $10 million, but the figures are not established as a like-for-like accounting comparison.

Where the $600 million figure comes from

GamesRadar says an archived 2006 USA Today report put Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas above 12 million copies sold about 16 months after its October 2004 release. GamesRadar then multiplies that unit count by an assumed $50 base price to get an illustrative figure of about $600 million. GamesRadar’s account

The arithmetic is straightforward: 12 million copies × $50 = $600 million. Because the reported sales were more than 12 million, this is a round-number illustration, not a precise total. It assumes each copy generated the full base price; it does not account for discounts, retailer shares, platform fees, returns, regional pricing, or the timing and mix of sales.

That distinction matters. A notional retail-price total is not the same as money received by the publisher, and neither figure establishes profit. The available account does not provide a verified accounting of the game’s actual receipts or costs.

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#1 Best Overall
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas ( Xbox 360 )
  • Classic Open-World Adventure: Experience the iconic story of Carl Johnson as he returns to Los Santos, navigating through gang warfare, corruption, and family drama in this legendary action-adventure game set in early 1990s California
  • Massive Explorable Territory: Roam freely across three distinct cities and vast countryside areas, featuring diverse landscapes from urban streets to rural farmlands, deserts, and mountain ranges with endless opportunities for exploration
  • Enhanced Xbox 360 Performance: Enjoy improved graphics, smoother gameplay, and enhanced visual details optimized for Xbox 360 hardware, bringing the sprawling world of San Andreas to life with better rendering and performance
  • Extensive Customization Options: Personalize your character's appearance with numerous clothing options, hairstyles, and tattoos while also customizing vehicles and building CJ's skills through various activities including gym workouts and driving challenges
  • Diverse Gameplay Activities: Engage in a wide variety of missions and side activities including street racing, casino games, property acquisition, gang territory control, and numerous mini-games that provide hours of entertainment beyond the main storyline

What is known about San Andreas’s budget

GamesRadar describes San Andreas as having a budget of roughly $10 million. Its account points to contemporary press reporting, including a December 2004 Wall Street Journal report, and an Ottawa Citizen item quoting then-Take-Two president Paul Eibeler as saying the budget was less than $10 million. These are reported historical figures, not a disclosed or audited cost statement. GamesRadar’s summary of the reports

So the headline comparison is best read as a reported budget set beside an illustrative gross sales-value estimate. It does not show that the game earned $600 million in revenue, or that it made a particular amount of profit.

Rank #2
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Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy- The Definitive Edition - PlayStation 4
  • Grand Theft Auto III: It all starts in Liberty City. With the revolutionary freedom to go anywhere and jack anyone, Grand Theft Auto III puts the center of the criminal underworld at your fingertips, if you have enough guts to take it.
  • Grand Theft Auto: Vice City: Welcome to the 1980s. From the decade of big hair and pastel suits comes the story of one man's rise to the top of the criminal pile.
  • Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas: Five years ago, Carl 'CJ' Johnson escaped the haze of Los Santos, San Andreas...a city tearing itself apart with gang trouble, drugs, and corruption.

How the comparison relates to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, developed by Sandfall Interactive, was reported to have cost less than $10 million to make. GamesRadar and GameSpot attribute that figure to The New York Times and to Sandfall. No public audited breakdown was established, and the reported figure does not clarify every cost included. GamesRadar’s report · GameSpot’s report

The similarity between the two reported budget figures is striking, but it does not make the comparison exact. The sources do not establish that the games’ budgets use the same accounting scope—for example, whether the same categories of development, marketing, or other costs are included. Nor does the San Andreas sales estimate provide a comparable sales figure for Clair Obscur.

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Rank #3
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas
  • Drive through the largest GTA environment ever -- The game has three cities players can explore, for a gaming area 5 times larger than Vice City
  • Recruit new characters into a street gang and take over by leading drive-by shootings against rivals Steal all-new vehicles, including bicycles
  • Improved fighting elements -- smoother hand-to-hand combat, plus the ability to hold a weapon in each hand
  • New graphics elements as cars get dirty and even rust, the longer you drive them
  • Advanced role-playing elements -- Unlike previous GTA characters, Carl can swim and he needs to eat to survive

Sandfall’s reported team size also needs careful interpretation. In a pre-release Unreal Engine interview, co-founder and lead programmer Tom Guillermin said the core team was fewer than 30 people, with around 25 in Montpellier and five in Paris. That describes the core team in that interview, not everyone who contributed to the game. Unreal Engine interview

What this tells us about GTA 6’s budget

It does not establish how much GTA 6 cost to make. No official budget figure for the game was established in the sources reviewed, so claims of a specific billion-dollar development cost should be treated as estimates unless tied to a reliable disclosure. The San Andreas calculation is not evidence for a GTA 6 budget or its likely return.

Rank #4
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - PlayStation 2 (Renewed)
  • This Certified Refurbished product is tested and certified to look and work like new. The refurbishing process includes functionality testing, basic cleaning, inspection, and repackaging. The product ships with all relevant accessories, a minimum 90-day warranty, and may arrive in a generic box. Only select sellers who maintain a high performance bar may offer Certified Refurbished products on Amazon.com
  • Discover an immersive storyline filled with twists and turns
  • Take part in fast-paced and lawless driving
  • Experience all-new action that continues the hit Grand Theft Auto series
  • Encounter new thrills and wicked speeds that are just up the road

Take-Two’s June 24, 2026 announcement listed Grand Theft Auto VI for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S at $79.99, with a November 19, 2026 release date. Those are announcement details, not a budget disclosure; release and pricing information can change. Take-Two announcement

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The practical takeaway

San Andreas offers an eye-catching historical comparison: press reports put its budget at around or below $10 million, while a later estimate values 12 million-plus copies at roughly $600 million using a $50 base price. But those figures answer different questions and have different evidentiary limits. They illustrate the scale of sales at an assumed retail price; they do not prove publisher revenue, profit, or the cost of making GTA 6.

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Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 3
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas
New graphics elements as cars get dirty and even rust, the longer you drive them
$31.86
Bestseller No. 4
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - PlayStation 2 (Renewed)
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - PlayStation 2 (Renewed)
Discover an immersive storyline filled with twists and turns; Take part in fast-paced and lawless driving
$18.00
Best Value
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy (The Definitive Edition) - For Nintendo Switch
  • Grand Theft Auto III: It all starts in Liberty City. With the revolutionary freedom to go anywhere and jack anyone, Grand Theft Auto III puts the center of the criminal underworld at your fingertips, if you have enough guts to take it.
  • Grand Theft Auto: Vice City: Welcome to the 1980s. From the decade of big hair and pastel suits comes the story of one man's rise to the top of the criminal pile. Grand Theft Auto returns with Tommy Vercetti’s tale of betrayal and revenge in a neon-soaked tropical town full of excess and brimming with possibilities.
  • Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas: Five years ago, Carl ‘CJ’ Johnson escaped the haze of Los Santos, San Andreas...a city tearing itself apart with gang trouble, drugs, and corruption. Now, it's the early 90s. CJ’s got to go home - his mother has been murdered, his family has fallen apart, and his childhood friends are all heading towards disaster.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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