Although Rockstar Games probably has plenty of money to count by now after the recent release of Grand Theft Auto 5 and launch of GTA Online, Rockstar North president Leslie Benzies said in a report from VG 24/7 today that the publisher spends the final phase of game development polishing the title rather than generating revenue-making ideas.
In an interview with Develop, Benzies said Rockstar spends the last 10 to 15 percent of project development perfecting the GTA release rather than seeking avenues for revenue because they themselves are gamers.
“Everyone here, we sat at home aged 11 playing these games obsessively, we dreamt about making them, and here we are. I do this every day and it’s my job –– a dream job,” Benzies said.
Obviously the money factors in, especially since the game made more than $1 billion in the 72 hours after its release in September. But Benzies said the extent of money talk comes down to a guy who tells Rockstar how much downloads make and how much disc stuff makes.
“But really we’ll make what we want,” Benzies said. “No, wait, don’t print that: We’ll make what people want, and that’s the truth.”
And that last 10 to 15 percent, Benzies said, is crucial, raising GTA releases to a “level of perfection not seen or understood in the industry.”
“We can all make a car drive down a street in a game, but can you do it in style? Everyone’s got characters that are walking around but can they walk?” Benzies asked.
Inevitably, however, this limits Rockstar’s ability to create yearly Grand Theft Auto release. Benzies believes an annual installment of the franchise would be impossible and something Rockstar doesn’t really look to do.
“We won’t be doing things every year in a cycle. A year just isn’t long enough to do this job. It might have been on the old consoles, but not on this.”
