GTA 6: hurricanes, wildlife and 12 new screenshots revealed

On September 29, 2026, Game Informer published its GTA 6 cover story: fourteen pages, interviews with five Rockstar executives and twelve previously unseen screenshots. It is the biggest batch of official information since the third trailer, seven weeks before the November 19, 2026 release.

Who is speaking in the feature?

Marcus Stewart interviewed Aaron Garbut (Rockstar North co-head and head of development), Rupert Humphries (senior vice president of narrative), Paul MacPherson (senior vice president of environment art direction), Owen Shepherd (vice president of art, lighting and rendering) and Michael Kane (vice president of dynamic art). These are official statements from Rockstar, not leaks.

A map twice the size of GTA V’s

Aaron Garbut confirms that Leonida is “by far” the largest world Rockstar has ever built: approximately twice GTA V’s area. He emphasizes density rather than square kilometers, however, particularly interiors.

The six main regions are officially named: Vice City, the Leonida Keys, Grassrivers, Port Gellhorn, Ambrosia and Mount Kalaga National Park.

Outside the cities, the feature describes ATV trails, mud parks, demolition derbies, mountain biking and motocross, farms and ranches, golf courses, bass fishing, swamps, beaches, abandoned tourist attractions and industrial areas, with more rural countryside in the north of the state.

Weather: the feature’s main focus

This is the most thoroughly explored topic. Rockstar has rebuilt its weather system to make it localized and persistent: two parts of the map can experience completely different weather at the same time.

In practice, you can stay in the sunshine while watching a thunderstorm hit a few hundred meters away, then travel there after it passes and find puddles and surfaces that are still wet. Rainbows appear after showers when the light is right.

Tropical storms and hurricanes are confirmed. Shepherd describes a full-blown storm: heavy clouds, strong winds, thick atmosphere, driving rain, water streaming off roofs and streetlights, thunder and lightning illuminating the clouds.

Wind has its own simulation: land breezes after sunset, convective updrafts and occlusion by buildings. Hair and debris swirl on rooftops, while gusts ripple the water’s surface and flatten marsh grasses.

What Rockstar has not said: how often these events occur, or whether they feature in missions or the story. At this stage, hurricanes are confirmed as weather phenomena, not scripted mechanics.

Over 170 animal species

Leonida is home to over 170 species, including more than 60 birds and over 30 land mammals. Several have never appeared in a Rockstar game before.

Confirmed native species include alligators, manatees, flamingos and pelicans. Rockstar has also recreated Florida’s invasive species — green iguanas, cane toads, feral cats, armadillos and rhesus macaques. Underwater, sharks, whales, rays, turtles and jellyfish each have their own behaviors.

The rendering builds on Red Dead Redemption 2, with new systems for iridescence, bioluminescence, translucency and feather types, plus a new hair and fur engine: fur reacts to contact, gets dirty, becomes tangled and wet, and varies in color between individual animals.

Red Dead Redemption 2’s rarity system also returns: some animals can be tracked and are classified as Rare, Discoverable or Legendary. Rockstar is keeping the identities of the hardest to find a secret.

Field research and residents

Rockstar made repeated scouting trips to Florida throughout development. Rupert Humphries recalls nighttime outings with former police officers, and time spent on the beaches, in the Everglades and in the Keys.

The most visible result is the population: Game Informer describes NPCs with more varied body types than in any previous Rockstar game — muscle mass, weight distribution, height, skin details (freckles, moles, tan lines) and tattoo styles tailored to communities and regions. An entire team works solely on NPC dialogue.

Jason and Lucia: the relationship is up to you

The feature gives a clear answer to a question raised since the first trailer. The relationship between Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos is up to the player. The duo can remain close partners and friends, or their relationship can turn romantic — but you will have to “make an effort”.

Romance is entirely optional, provides no gameplay advantage and only slightly changes certain story elements. Players can switch between the two characters “almost” at any time, playing together or separately. Hiking, gym visits and trips to the zoo also give the two opportunities to spend time together.

Vice City and the Sahara Arena

Vice City is Leonida’s densest area. The nighttime downtown screenshot shows beams of light rising from the Sahara Arena, the fictional version of Miami’s Kaseya Center — the very building where Rockstar is currently installing its real “Welcome to Vice City” billboard. A Ferris wheel, marina and passenger plane complete the scene.

What to take away

This feature does not tell the game’s story or show any missions. It documents the world: its size, weather, wildlife and residents. Seven weeks before release, it is probably the last major technical feature before the launch previews.