2025-11-10
Even The Empire State Building Is Dunking On GTA 6's Delay
It feels like everyone on the internet has piled up on Rockstar Games after it delayed Grand Theft Auto 6 yet again, and even the social media team for New York City's most famous skyscraper is joining in the mass display of scaudenfredue.Quoting Rockstar's news of the delay on X, the Empire State Building's account quipped in a post: "It took one year to build me." On the surface level, it's funny seeing another mainstream brand chime in on a significant news story from the gaming industry, though building a 102-story tower is obviously a much different feat than developing a video game.It took one year to build me https://t.co/6oSg4o6az6 — Empire State Building (@EmpireStateBldg) November 7, 2025Planning for the Empire State Building's construction began in 1929, with construction taking around 13 months from 1930 to 1931. The building's construction was a massive operation, with at least 3,400 workers at its peak.Safety standards and labor protections were lower at the time compared to today, with workers generally not wearing hard hats or harnesses. There are five recorded deaths involved with the construction of the Empire State Building, though other outlets have reported numbers as high as 14 or 42, albeit without verification. There are no recorded deaths associated with the development of Grand Theft Auto 6.Development for GTA 6 began "in earnest" in 2020, according to Rockstar Games parent company Take-Two. The LinkedIn page for Rockstar Games shows over 4,600 people who work for the company, with some reports claiming that over 6,000 people work at the company.While developing GTA 6 might not be a physically dangerous job like building a massive skyscraper, the labor practices of Rockstar Games have still been scrutinized. The company is accused of union-busting after dismissing 30 to 40 staff members last month, though Rockstar retorted that these developers were instead let go for "distributing and discussing confidential information in a public form."
