GTA 6 in Game Informer: Everything You Need to Know About Leonida — Hurricanes, 170+ Animal Species and a Map Twice the Size of GTA 5
Evgenii Sokolov
On September 29, Game Informer published a 14-page cover story on GTA 6. It was written by Marcus Stewart, a lifelong resident of South Florida — the region Rockstar used as the model for Leonida. He spoke with five senior people at the studio, and, as the magazine announced ahead of the issue, Rockstar provided 12 new screenshots. Part of the piece recaps the August extended showcase, but there is real news too: weather, wildlife, residents and the north of the map. Here are the highlights.
In short
- Leonida is Rockstar's largest map, which the studio says is twice the size of the GTA 5 map;
- the north of the map is based on North Florida: logging, farms, demolition derbies, mud parties and gated communities with their own airstrips;
- weather varies by area. Tropical storms and hurricanes are in, but Rockstar hasn't said how often they hit or what they affect;
- there are more than 170 animal species, and many of them can be tracked, as in Red Dead Redemption 2;
- pedestrians differ in height, build, skin, tattoos and clothing;
- Rockstar neither confirmed nor directly ruled out Orlando's theme parks or Cape Canaveral;
- the game launches November 19, 2026, on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. A PC version has not been announced.
The map: twice the size of GTA 5, with a rural north
Aaron Garbut, one of Rockstar's leads, calls Florida "America dialed up to 11." Rupert Humphries, who oversees narrative, explains why that suits the game: its stories work best where rich and poor live next door to each other, with crime and corruption linking them. Even though Vice City has appeared in three earlier games, the team went back to Miami and South Florida several times in recent years for research — night drives alongside former police officers, evenings in clubs, days in the Everglades and the Keys. Locals briefed designers on crime and policing, writers listened to how people talk in Miami and in the countryside, and artists gathered reference from real interiors.
According to Garbut, Leonida is the studio's biggest map by a clear margin and twice the size of the GTA 5 map. Vice City has been rebuilt and moved to the present day, but the story takes the leads across the whole state. The team built out so many detailed interiors that the buildings feel real inside and out.
Rockstar named the six regions back in spring 2025; Game Informer adds descriptions:
- Vice City — Miami: art deco, beaches, a cruise port and traffic jams that make police chases harder;
- Leonida Keys — the game's Florida Keys;
- Grassrivers — the game's Everglades: wetlands full of predatory reptiles and outdoorsmen who may well be armed;
- Port Gellhorn — a faded tourist trap of budget motels, shuttered roadside attractions and crumbling shopping plazas;
- Ambrosia — factories, refineries and a biker gang that runs the place;
- Mount Kalaga — a national park on the state's northern border.
The genuinely new part is a closer look at the north, near the Georgia border (in the game, the state of Gloriana). Paul MacPherson, who leads the environment artists, says it draws on Panama City, Jacksonville, Ocala and the small towns in between. That brought in logging sites and clear-cut areas, gated communities for private jet owners with their own airstrips, and struggling west coast towns. Things to do there:
- ATV trails, motocross on coastal dunes and mountain bike paths through the forest;
- a boozy mud-bogging party open to anything with two or four wheels;
- demolition derbies held at night on lit-up oval tracks;
- farms, ranches and an exclusive golf course;
- beaches of dark rock and bleached dead trees;
- bass fishing on a lake surrounded by cypress trees and live oaks covered in Spanish moss.
Stewart asked directly about Orlando's theme parks and Cape Canaveral. MacPherson dodged, saying "while we may not have those exact locations," everything in the game is built to deliver the full Florida experience. Whether the game has counterparts to Orlando's theme parks or the spaceport remains unknown.
Weather: rain by area, and hurricanes
Owen Shepherd, who oversees lighting and rendering at Rockstar, says the weather system has been reworked to be much more localized and persistent. What that means:
- clouds roll across the whole map, and the sky ranges from the clear blue of a Miami winter to towering thunderclouds with lightning, the kind that build over Florida on most summer and autumn afternoons;
- rain falls in specific areas: you can stand in the sun and watch a storm hit another part of the map;
- after a downpour the ground stays wet and puddles linger, so you can tell an area just got rain; rainbows appear in the right light;
- the wind shifts: after sunset the breeze blows offshore, updrafts rise over warm ground, and buildings block the wind. Rooftop gusts tug at hair and swirl debris, ripples run across the water, and swamp grass bends.
Tropical storms and hurricanes bring heavy cloud, strong wind, soaked streets and water streaming off roofs and streetlights, with lightning flashing inside the clouds. Rockstar hasn't said how often they hit or whether they affect the story or gameplay.
Wildlife: over 170 species
GTA 6 has more than 170 animal species, many never seen in a Rockstar game before: over 60 bird species, over 30 land mammals, plus fish and reptiles. Here's what we know:
- Michael Kane of Rockstar's art team confirmed manatees, flamingos, pelicans and alligators;
- at sea, Kane says, there are several shark species, whales, rays, turtles and jellyfish, each moving in its own way;
- according to Game Informer, species that were brought to Florida and became a problem are in too: the green iguana, feral cats, the cane toad, the nine-banded armadillo and the rhesus macaque;
- building on its Red Dead Redemption work, Rockstar has animals that shimmer in the light, glow in the dark and appear translucent, with different feather types;
- fur, Kane says, is simulated on its own — it gets wet, dirty and matted — and animals of the same species differ in color and coat.
As in RDR2, many animals can be tracked. They fall into Rare, Discoverable and Legendary groups, but Rockstar won't say which animals are in them — it wants players to find them on their own.
Residents: height, build, tattoos, clothing
Game Informer calls GTA 6's pedestrians the most diverse in the series' history, and a dedicated team in Los Angeles writes their chatter. What's changed:
- pedestrians vary in height and build, including musculature, chests, stomachs and butts;
- skin shows freckles, moles and tans;
- tattoos were matched to Leonida's communities and regions — Kane says the team paid "a crazy amount of attention" to this;
- there are more hairstyles and grooming options, including more ethnic styles;
- Rockstar has never made this much clothing: it depends on the area and the wearer, and can be dirty, worn or fit differently. Extra care went into items with cultural weight: sneakers and their colorways, watches, sunglasses and hats.
What we already knew
The rest of the piece recaps what Rockstar shared in August. Jason and Lucia can stay friends or become a couple. Access to some story missions depends on how much the leads are making. Wanted levels go up to six stars again, and the police remember descriptions, so changing clothes and cars helps you escape. Expensive cars need tools to steal, and the WAiNK app shows their security and what a fence will pay. For quick trips there's the RydeMe ride-share app. More in our GTA 6 Extended Look breakdown.
Verdict
The relationship, robberies and policing covered in the Game Informer piece repeat what we saw in August. What is new is how closely Rockstar has recreated Florida itself: weather that's sunny in one part of the map and rainy in the next, introduced iguanas and macaques, pedestrians with distinct builds and tattoos, and a rural north of logging sites and mud parties. We'll see how it all plays on November 19.
Which new detail grabbed you most — hurricanes, over 170 animal species or Leonida's north?
Which new GTA 6 detail interests you most?
FAQ
Quick answers after the Game Informer piece.
How much bigger is the GTA 6 map than GTA 5?
Rockstar's Aaron Garbut told Game Informer that Leonida is twice the size of the GTA 5 map and the studio's largest map.
Will GTA 6 have hurricanes?
Yes. Rockstar confirmed tropical storms and hurricanes but hasn't said how often they hit or whether they affect the story or gameplay.
How many animals are in GTA 6?
More than 170 species, including over 60 bird species and over 30 land mammals.
When does GTA 6 come out?
November 19, 2026, on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. A PC version has not been announced.
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