Can GTA 6 Save You $5,000? Here’s the Math Behind the Claim

Grand Theft Auto 6 is almost here, and some fans are already making room in their schedules for what could be one of the biggest gaming releases in years. Between booking time off work and preparing to spend hours exploring Leonida, some players are treating November 19 as a holiday of its own.

But what if buying GTA 6 could also help you save money?

That's the argument made by Mark Tilbury, a British self-made millionaire and entrepreneur whose YouTube channel has millions of subscribers. In a video titled 'How GTA 6 Could Save You $5,000', Tilbury explains how spending $99.99 on the game could potentially save players thousands by giving them a reason to spend more evenings at home instead of going out.

It sounds like a stretch, but his calculation is worth looking at.

GTA 6 Size: How Many GB on PS5 and When to Pre-LoadGTA 6 could take up about a third of your PS5’s usable storage, and buying the boxed copy won’t save you the download.

How Mark Tilbury arrived at the $5,000 GTA 6 savings claim

Tilbury's argument starts with the cost of entertainment. Think about how much you spend on a typical night out. Between drinks, food, transport, and other activities, a single evening can easily cost $100, particularly if you regularly visit bars or restaurants.

Now multiply that by 50 evenings.

That's $5,000.

He suggests that instead of spending those 50 evenings going out, you could stay home and play GTA 6. Using a $99.99 purchase price, Tilbury estimates that if the game takes you around 80 hours to complete, you're paying approximately $1.25 for every hour of entertainment.

And there's plenty to do beyond the main storyline. Side missions, exploration and other activities could keep players occupied for considerably longer. Tilbury estimates that with additional gameplay, the entertainment cost could fall to around 50 cents per hour.

In other words, you're getting considerably more entertainment for your money than you might from concert tickets, cinema visits or dinner dates.

It's worth noting that the $99.99 figure is the Ultimate Edition price used in his calculation. The standard edition is listed at $79.99 in US pricing, so the actual cost will depend on which version you buy.

How to save $5,000 playing GTA 6

Here's where you need to do a little more than simply buy the game.

Tilbury's calculation only works if you're replacing expenses you would otherwise have incurred. Buying GTA 6 and spending 50 evenings playing it doesn't automatically mean you've saved $5,000.

To make the numbers work, you would need to identify 50 occasions when you would normally spend around $100 on entertainment and choose to stay home instead.

For example, if you typically spend $100 on a night out every weekend, replacing those outings with GTA 6 sessions over 50 evenings would leave you with $5,000 in spending you could avoid.

You could take the same approach with restaurants, cinema trips, concerts, or expensive weekend activities. Rather than treating every evening as an opportunity to spend money, set aside some of that time for gaming.

The important part is actually keeping the money you would have spent. Transfer that $100 into a savings account each time you skip an outing. Do that consistently across 50 occasions, and you'll have $5,000 set aside.

Of course, you should account for the game's purchase price and any other gaming expenses when calculating your net savings.

Does buying GTA 6 save you $5,000?