Rockstar reportedly spent $300,000,000 on just one feature in GTA 6

Everybody knows at this point that Rockstar Games has spent a lot on the development of Grand Theft Auto 6, yet new reports have suggested that the water occupying the seas and lakes of Leonida cost as much as $300 million to make.

Water is notoriously difficult for game developers to grapple with which is why you see so many games make any attempt to swim an immediate death sentence, but Rockstar Games has always strove towards perfection.

Recent entries in the Grand Theft Auto series have been heavily praised for their realistic depictions of water – not just with how it looks but how it interacts with the surrounding environment – and it looks like things will be no different when GTA 6 releases later this year.

You'd certainly expect that to be the case considering how much money players have to fork out to buy the game, but with figures in the hundreds of millions being thrown around you have to wonder quite how realistic it could really be.

Water will likely play a key role in your experience throughout Leonida, so Rockstar has to get it right (Rockstar Games)

As shared by Gamereactor, a new report shared on X by VGT Gaming News has suggested that the internal budget for water physics modelling at Rockstar Games is between $200 million and $300 million.

Insider sources appear to suggest that 20 of the developer's top engineers have been working exclusively on the game's water physics, with features like surfing, hurricanes, and floods showing off the potential of the systems.

There are also suggestions that the game will feature low and high tides for the first time ever in a level of attention to detail that most won't have even considered, yet that's not necessarily surprising considering the length of the game's development alongside the expectations that have been placed on Rockstar ahead of release.

Reports have suggested that Rockstar budgeted between $200 million and $300 million for water physics alone (Rockstar Games)

Of course, you do always have to take reports and leaks like these with a pinch of salt, and there's a chance that Rockstar haven't even specifically budgeted for water physics at all.

However, what is guaranteed is that there's going to be plenty of impressive in-game systems and physics interactions at play, and fishing has been indirectly confirmed by the recent announcements that outlined content exclusive to the game's Ultimate Edition.

There's also likely to be plenty of water present across Leonia's huge map, and pre-released screenshots have shown off massive ocean stretches, swamp-like locations, and even underwater animals that you might be able to take a close look at.