GTA 6 New Details: Game Informer Issue 382 Feature Breakdown

How big is GTA 6’s map? What will hurricanes, wildlife, robberies, and police pursuits be like? Game Informer’s September 29, 2026 feature offers new details about exploring Leonida, Jason and Lucia’s relationship, and many other parts of the game.

This guide breaks down the feature, “Grand Theft Auto VI – Welcome to Leonida,” by topic. It covers the map, weather, animals, vehicle theft, and the people Jason and Lucia meet.

Key details

The map is described as roughly twice the size of GTA 5’s, with more detail on rooftops, in alleys, inside buildings, and throughout the city.
Weather includes localized rain, rainbows, tropical storms, and hurricanes.
Leonida has more than 170 animal species, including over 60 bird species and over 30 land mammal species.
A six-star wanted level returns alongside “Heat,” which accounts for a suspect’s appearance and getaway vehicle.
The feature also discusses switching protagonists, shaping their relationship, and using an app to assess stolen vehicles.

Game Informer’s GTA 6 feature at a glance
A map roughly twice GTA 5’s size: Leonida’s six regions
1. The six regions
2. Landscapes and things to do beyond the city
Switching between Jason and Lucia and shaping their relationship
1. Friends or romantic partners?
2. Big and small choices shape the story
Stealing vehicles, travel apps, and the smartphone
Robberies, money, six wanted stars, and police pursuits
1. Pull off robberies alone or together
2. Heat brings your appearance and the crime scene into the pursuit
Weather: local rain, rainbows, storms, and hurricanes
Over 170 animal species, including 60-plus birds
Activities and more varied NPCs
1. Eight activities highlighted in the feature
2. More variety in residents’ bodies, skin, hair, and clothing
Characters featured in the story
Researching Florida and building Leonida
Sources and further reading

Game Informer’s GTA 6 feature at a glance

GTA 6 is the cover story for Game Informer Issue 382, its November 2026 issue. The digital issue launched on September 29. Its 14-page feature includes developer interviews and 12 new screenshots.

Rockstar Games says the cover story can be read for free in the Game Informer app. The print edition is also available by subscription, with delivery to Japan among the options listed by Game Informer.

Sources: Game Informer’s cover reveal and digital issue announcement.

Topic	Highlights
Map and regions	A map described as roughly twice GTA 5’s size, six regions, and varied urban and rural scenery
Jason and Lucia	Character switching, friendship or romance, and choices that shape their story
Vehicles and phones	Theft methods, security systems, WAiNK, RydeMe, and social media
Robberies and police	Solo or joint robberies, six wanted stars, and Heat
Weather	Localized rain, rainbows, wind, storms, and hurricanes
Wildlife	More than 170 species, tracking animals, and detailed fur and feathers
Activities and NPCs	Eight activities and more varied appearances and conversations
Characters	The backgrounds and relationships of the protagonists and their associates
Research and development	How Florida’s landscapes and culture inform Leonida

A map roughly twice GTA 5’s size: Leonida’s six regions

Development lead Aaron Garbut describes GTA 6’s map as Rockstar’s largest yet, at roughly twice the size of GTA 5’s. The focus goes beyond sheer area: city streets, rooftops, alleys, and building interiors are being built with greater detail.

The story will not take you to every location. Exploring beyond mission destinations will reveal different scenery and ways of life across Leonida. That should make detours rewarding in their own right.

The six regions

Region	What the feature describes
Vice City	A city of Art Deco architecture, beaches, a cruise port, and busy roads. Traffic and congestion can affect a getaway from the police.
Leonida Keys	Islands reminiscent of the Florida Keys. Early in the story, Jason works as a drug runner here.
Grassrivers	Wetlands reminiscent of Florida’s Everglades, inhabited by reptiles and armed people living outdoors.
Port Gellhorn	A region with abandoned tourist attractions, cheap motels, and run-down commercial areas.
Ambrosia	An industrial area of factories and refineries that is also home to a local biker gang.
Mount Kalaga National Park	A natural area in the north, along the border between Leonida and another in-game place named Gloriana.

Landscapes and things to do beyond the city

Rural Leonida has off-road courses for four-wheelers (ATVs), gatherings where bikes and ATVs tear through the mud, nighttime demolition derbies in which drivers smash their cars into one another, and mountain-bike trails. The feature also describes farms, luxury ranches, private golf courses, and beaches with distinctive rock formations and driftwood.

Motocross across sand dunes and bass fishing on lakes are mentioned too. Getting away from Vice City’s streets may offer a very different way to spend time in Leonida.

A Game Informer reporter asked Rockstar’s environmental art lead Paul MacPherson whether Leonida would include places inspired by Orlando’s theme parks or the Space Coast, the Florida region known for rocket launches. MacPherson said the team aims to capture Florida’s character and experiences without necessarily reproducing real locations exactly. That leaves room to imagine GTA-style places inspired by Walt Disney World or NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

Switching between Jason and Lucia and shaping their relationship

As in GTA 5, you can switch between the playable protagonists. Jason and Lucia often take part in missions together, and their relationship is another part of the game.

Jason and Lucia are partners in crime. When a job that promised easy money goes wrong, they become caught in a criminal conspiracy stretching from Vice City across Leonida. They must rely on each other as they uncover what is happening.

Friends or romantic partners?

Jason and Lucia remain partners, but your choices during the story and in everyday moments shape whether they stay friends or become romantically involved.

Spend time together during missions and other activities.
Hold hands or open a door for the other person.
Respond promptly to calls and messages.

Engaging with the relationship system is optional. Friendship and romance do not offer different gameplay advantages, so you can develop their connection as you prefer. Their bond can also affect parts of the story.

Big and small choices shape the story

Major decisions and small day-to-day choices can both influence how the story unfolds. Trying different choices on another playthrough may reveal new sides of Jason and Lucia’s relationship and the events around them.

Stealing vehicles, travel apps, and the smartphone

How you steal a vehicle depends on the model

Some vehicles can be stolen using familiar methods; others require special tools. High-end cars have more advanced security and tracking systems, so the right approach depends on the vehicle.

The smartphone app WAiNK lets you scan a vehicle to inspect its security features. It also shows the estimated cost of registering it as your personal vehicle and the price a buyer of stolen cars might pay. That information could help you decide whether to keep a car or sell it.

Travel with RydeMe and talk to fellow passengers

The RydeMe ride-hailing app lets you call a car and get around quickly. If you share a ride, you can talk with other passengers. The in-game map has also been updated with a satellite-style view.

You can browse social media, but the protagonists do not post

Because Jason and Lucia are criminals on the run, they do not upload their own photos or videos to social media. They can, however, browse other people’s posts on services such as Snapmatic.

The radio features a range of music alongside the kind of humorous ads familiar from GTA.

Robberies, money, six wanted stars, and police pursuits

Pull off robberies alone or together

You can commit robberies alone or with your partner, and working together can strengthen Jason and Lucia’s relationship. A fast, loud approach and a slower, quieter one will draw different responses from the police.

Earning money also matters to your progress: some missions become available according to your current income.

Heat brings your appearance and the crime scene into the pursuit

The wanted level returns to six stars. Under the new Heat system, police gather information from crime reports, descriptions of the suspects, and their whereabouts at the scene. Getting out of sight is only one part of escaping; changing a recognizable appearance or getaway vehicle can matter too.

Change clothes or hair: Stores and barbershops offer ways to alter your appearance and evade pursuit.
Abandon the getaway vehicle: Leaving the vehicle used in the crime is another option.
Split up: If the police are chasing both protagonists, heading in different directions may divide their attention.

If one protagonist escapes but the other is arrested, the attempt still ends in “Busted.” When both are involved, you need to get your partner to safety too.

Weather: local rain, rainbows, storms, and hurricanes

A GTA 6 landscape with sunshine over the foreground water and lightning beneath distant storm clouds — Sunlight reaches the water in the foreground while lightning flashes beneath dark clouds in the distance. The scene shows how weather can differ from one place to another.

In GTA 6, weather varies from place to place. It could be sunny where you are while rain falls nearby. Wet ground and puddles remain after a shower, leaving visible traces of the weather.

Rain beneath the clouds you see in the distance

Clouds move across the sky, ranging from fair-weather formations to large storm clouds carrying thunder and lightning. A storm on the horizon is more than scenery: rain is actually falling beneath it.

Rainbows can appear when the light is right. Along with wet roads and puddles, the sky itself changes as a storm passes.

Buildings and terrain affect the wind

The feature describes winds blowing offshore after sunset, air currents rising as the ground warms, and buildings blocking the wind. Hair and litter move, waves form on the water, and wetland grasses sway. Wind should be visible in the world around you, not only in the sky.

Tropical storms and hurricanes

Leonida, inspired by Florida, also experiences tropical storms and hurricanes. Thick clouds bring strong winds, heavy rain, thunder, and lightning. The team has also worked on rainwater running over roofs and streetlights, and on the appearance of wet objects.

Source: Game Informer on tropical storms and hurricanes.

Over 170 animal species, including 60-plus birds

Game Informer describes more than 170 animal species across land, sky, and sea. These include over 60 bird species and over 30 land mammal species, as well as fish, reptiles, and others.

Animals mentioned in the feature

Habitat or group	Examples
Water and wetlands	Manatees and alligators
Birds	Flamingos and pelicans
Ocean	Several kinds of sharks, whales, rays, turtles, and jellyfish
Invasive and feral species	Green iguanas, feral cats, cane toads, and rhesus macaques

Some animals will appear in a Rockstar game for the first time. The developers studied how the species look, move, and behave to bring those differences into the game.

Tracking Rare, Discoverable, and Legendary animals

GTA 6 lets you search for and track unusual or legendary animals. The feature names three categories: Rare, Discoverable, and Legendary.

Based on the names, Rare may refer to animals you seldom encounter, Discoverable to species you find by exploring, and Legendary to exceptional individuals. Their differences may involve how you locate and track them, not simply how often they appear.

Red Dead Online also lets players seek out legendary animals, track them, observe them, and take photographs. Looking for remarkable wildlife could similarly become a reason to explore every corner of Leonida.

Detailed feathers, fur, water, and dirt

The wildlife draws on technology developed for the Red Dead Redemption series. Feathers can shimmer with colors that change as your viewing angle shifts; some creatures glow, while others have translucent bodies. Fur can clump with dirt or become soaked, and animals of the same species can have different coat colors.

The Game Informer writer also hopes to encounter a Skunk Ape, a cryptid associated with Florida. A mysterious sighting like that could make for a memorable detour in GTA.

Source: Game Informer on GTA 6’s animal species.

Activities and more varied NPCs

Eight activities highlighted in the feature

Game Informer mentions eight activities. Some offer a break from the main story and opportunities for Jason and Lucia to spend time together.

BASE jumping (parachuting from a fixed structure or cliff)
Pool
Working out at a gym
Kayaking (paddling a small boat)
Mini-golf
Scuba diving
Airboating (riding a flat-bottomed boat powered by a large fan)
Jet skiing

More variety in residents’ bodies, skin, hair, and clothing

Non-player characters (NPCs), including the people you meet on the street, vary in height, muscle mass, body shape, and even how fat is distributed across their bodies. Freckles, moles, and tanning add variation to skin, while tattoos, hairstyles, and grooming reflect local cultures.

Clothing differs with a character’s background and neighborhood. Materials, colors, patterns, brands, dirt, wear, and the way clothes are styled all matter, along with shoes, watches, hats, and sunglasses.

Rockstar also has a dedicated team in Los Angeles writing NPC conversations. The way residents talk should help distinguish one area from another just as much as its buildings and scenery do.

Characters featured in the story

The feature introduces Jason and Lucia’s backgrounds and the people whose lives intersect with theirs.

Character	What the feature says
Jason Duval	A former soldier who grew up around criminals. Seeking a new life and financial success, he works as a drug runner in the Leonida Keys early in the story.
Lucia Caminos	Originally from Liberty City, she learned to fight from her father. An incident involving her family landed her in the Leonida Penitentiary. After her release, she pursues a better life.
Cal Hampton	Jason’s friend, a comic presence with a deep interest in conspiracy theories.
Dre’Quan Priest	Determined to succeed in music, he is involved with the record label Only Raw Records.
Raul Bautista	A robbery job brings him into Jason and Lucia’s orbit, and they begin working together.
Boobie Ike	An entrepreneur involved in real estate, music, and illegal ventures.
Brian Heder	An experienced smuggler who gives Jason a place to live in exchange for helping with his business.
Real Dimez	A rap duo formed by Bae-Luxe and Roxy. Friends since high school, they are trying to regain their popularity after a hit song and some controversy. They are signed to Only Raw Records.

According to Game Informer, actor Stephen Root voices Brian.

Boobie Ike has business interests in Vice City spanning real estate, music, and illegal ventures. The Game Informer writer speculates that Miami rapper Rick Ross may have partly inspired the character.

For more on these people and their connections, see our GTA 6 character list.

Researching Florida and building Leonida

To create Leonida, Rockstar’s developers researched more than Miami and South Florida. They visited Panama City, Jacksonville, Ocala, smaller towns, and areas shaped by forestry and logging.

Over years of field research, team members went out at night with a former police officer, visited clubs and beaches, and explored the Everglades and the Keys. They spoke with residents about culture, crime, and policing while studying regional dialects, buildings, and interiors in both cities and rural areas.

Developer interviewed	Role and topics discussed
Aaron Garbut	Development lead and co-studio head: the setting, map size, urban density, and ways to interact with the world.
Rupert Humphries	Senior vice president of narrative: research into local culture, residents, crime, and law enforcement.
Paul MacPherson	Senior vice president of environmental art: the northern and rural landscapes.
Owen Shepherd	Vice president of lighting and rendering: clouds, rain, wind, and weather.
Michael Kane	Vice president of dynamic art: the animals’ variety, appearances, and movement.

The team aims to portray a place where glamour and roughness, wealth and financial hardship exist side by side. As the map grows, the details of its streets, the number and variety of residents, and ways to engage with the world grow with it. City and countryside should feel different to explore.

The Game Informer writer, who grew up in South Florida, also describes the region’s contrasts: conservation and development, retirees and celebrities. They praise the depiction of its streets and traffic and hope for a story with the emotional impact of Red Dead Redemption 2.