Rockstar Games co-founder and former lead GTA and RDR writer, Dan Houser reveals that he didn’t even watch the GTA 6 Extended Look in a new interview: “I will try and avoid it because I always try and avoid stuff that’s going to distract or disrupt me creatively. I’m always trying to think about new ways of doing it, not sit there in some kind of comparison of what I would have done differently.” He also says that new information about his open-world game from Absurd Ventures will be revealed in the next few months. (Source: variety.com/2026/gaming/news…)

50+ new GTA 6 details from GameInformer’s exclusive interview with Rockstar Games: 1. Aaron Garbut describes Florida (the main inspiration for Leonida) as “America dialed up to 11” and the perfect location for a GTA game as a place of beauty and contrast 2. Rockstar is giving players the chance to embrace the Florida Man fantasy, letting them roam the many culturally and environmentally diverse regions 3. Garbut says the high expectations are unprecedented and they don’t take that lightly 4. Rockstar spent the last several years taking multiple trips to Miami and South Florida for reference material and first-hand experience from riding around areas at night with ex-cops, to going to nightclubs, spending time on the beach, in the Everglades, down in the Keys, and beyond 5. Designers spoke with residents to learn personal insights about the culture, crime, and law enforcement to create its most diverse and expressive NPCs to date 6. Jason is an army vet working in the Leonida Keys for local drug runners at the start of the game 7. Lucia is a Liberty City native trained in combat sports by her father. A mysterious incident involving her family landed her in prison 8. You can’t make Jason and Lucia break up but you can influence whether they remain friends or become a romantic couple 9. Rockstar has emphasized that players are not required to engage with the relationship system (interactions such as holding hands, opening doors for each other, calling and answering calls/texts promptly and regularly, and doing activities together). There are no gameplay benefits to being friends or a couple 10. However certain elements of the story will be affected by the relationship system (platonic or romantic) 11. Aaron Garbut says Leonida is the biggest map they’ve ever created: “We obsessed about every part – the rooftops, the alleys, the internals and everything in between to the point we hit a critical mass with the numbers of our interiors, and you start to feel the buildings are more real inside and out. This world is a cohesive whole with the density of content and a hand-crafted quality to every bit” 12. The map is more dense, detailed, interactive and double the size of GTAV 13. Primary regions are Vice City, the Leonida Keys, Grassrivers, Port Gellhorn, Ambrosia, and Mount Kalaga National Park 14. Mount Kalaga is a national park on Leonida’s northern border and it represents the culture of the Florida-Georgia line (Leonida-Gloriana line), it’s inspired by Panama City, Jacksonville, Ocala, and smaller rural towns 15. It has visually striking spaces and fun gameplay opportunities with communities centered around private jet ownership, complete with personal landing strips 16. In between all northern towns, there are ATV trails, mud park part, mountain bike trails, livestock and agriculture farms, high-end ranches, a luxury private golf course, blackrock and boneyard inspired beaches, Spanish moss draped live oak and cypress forested lake 17. Vice City boasts the glamour and hustle of Miami, including deco architecture, often congested roadways 18. Grassrivers has a sense of danger due to the Everglades’ well-documented past as a drug-running hotbed 19. Port Gellhorn represents Florida’s many smaller and struggling tourist trap areas, as the region is littered with abandoned attractions, cheap motels, and derelict strip malls 20. Rockstar describes Ambrosia as the heart of Leonida, a symbol of American industry defined by various factories, refineries, and local biker gang 21. The weather system has been re-engineered to make everything more localized and persistent with fully dynamic cloudscapes, hurricanes and tropical storms 22. You can make be in a sunny area while watching a storm in a nearby area 23. Rain creates realistic rainbows under certain lighting conditions 24. After it’s rained, persistent puddles will remain on the ground 25. Wind system includes nighttime land breezes, rising warm air, and airflow blocked by buildings 26. Wind will blow debris across rooftops, create ripples on the water, and bend the swamp grass 27. Vice President of art, Owen Shephard describes storms in the game: “heavy clouds, strong winds, dense atmospherics, and a lot of rain combine so that everything is dripping wet, water is gushing off roof edges and lampposts, thunder rumbles and flashes of lightning light up the clouds dramatically” 28. The game features over 170 animal species across the map, which include Leonida-native species that have never appeared in a Rockstar game 29. It includes over 60 bird types, more than 30 land mammals, plus various fish, reptiles, manatees, flamingos, pelicans, and, as previously shown, alligators 30. Vice President of dynamic art, Michael Kane says: “The animal art and population teams are incredibly passionate about delivering animals that are accurately researched and look visually correct in every respect, urban and rural environs, aquatic life both inland and ocean, and the wetland habitats alongside the supporting movement and animation to bring them to life” 31. In addition to native Florida species, there will be many invasive animals such as the green iguana, the feral cat, cane toad, nine-banded armadillo, and the rhesus macaque monkey 32. players will encounter different shark species, whales, rays, turtles, and jellyfish, which all have distinct movement behaviors 33. animals will even display iridescence, bioluminescence, translucency, and feather types, plus new hair and fur systems for coats and pelts 34. Fur is fully simulated and set up for human-to-animal interaction with dirt matting and clumping in environmental contexts, including getting wet, as well as color and coat variations 35. Animals will be categorized as rare, discoverable, and legendary that you can track 36. Some of the activities include: Base jumping, Billiards, Gyms, Kayaking, Mini golf, Scuba diving, Street and off-road racing, Zoos, Air boating, and Jet skiing 37. The game features the most diverse and well-realized NPCs in series history, both in their physical appearances and ambient dialogue 38. There’s a team in LA dedicated to writing NPC dialogue only 39. NPCs vary in height and have different body types with specific differences in areas such as musculature, local weight gain in chests/busts, stomachs, and butts 40. Different skin types are also represented, with details such as freckles, moles, and tanning 41. They made culturally correct tattoo styles that fit Leonida’s diverse communities and regions 42. Hair and body grooming will also have better visual representation featuring far more ethnic styles 43. NPC fashion varies greatly between areas and reflects the local culture and style of the region 44. certain missions only become when you have enough money 45. You can rob places alone or as a duo (grows the relationship), and robberies can be executed loudly or quietly which determines if and how the police respond 46. 6-stars wanted level returns in addition to a new Heat system, where cops will gather information based on player’s appearance and whereabouts. Changing your hairstyle and clothing, as well as ditching the vehicle you escaped in, will help you escape. Splitting up can also divide police attention if they know they’re chasing a pair 47. Depending on the vehicle type, you may be able to steal it the old‑fashioned way or require specialized tools 48. Expensive cars may have sophisticated security systems and even trackers, and you can scan them using a new phone app called WAiNK 49. WAiNK also displays the cost of registering it as your personal vehicle and the estimated value should you decide to sell it to a fence 50. The story encourages encouraging multiple playthroughs, as decisions big and small significantly impact the story’s direction 51. The game rewards you the more you spend time exploring Leonida 52. Aaron Garbut concludes by saying that the pressure is huge and they dealt with that by doing their best to overdeliver: “Normally you compromise scale for detail or detail for interaction, but with this project we went the other way – everything is dialed up, detail, scope, breadth, scale, interaction and density. I don’t think we have ever created anything close to this before.”

Rumor: LA Noire will have a sequel after GTA 6 - Set in San Francisco - Story is about the Zodiac killer - Likely coming in 2030 - Rockstar wants to take the face scanning to the next level What gives this leaker credibility is that they managed to accurately describe GTA 6 mechanics back in 2023, such as the relationship and criminal profile and how they’ll affect the story. The leaker also correctly stated that the game was supposed to have 4 protagonists (Rob Nelson confirmed this in recent previews). Source (beware of spoilers): gtaforums.com/topic/994376-s…