A 14-page Game Informer cover story confirms hurricanes, a map twice the size of GTA 5's and a Leonida split into six regions.
Sources ign.com · polygon.com · fr.ign.com
After several quiet weeks following August's Extended Look, Rockstar is talking again. On September 29, IGN and Polygon sum up the 14-page cover story Game Informer devotes to GTA 6, built on interviews with several studio leads.
The magazine's own site did not survive the rush: IGN France reports that the website and app crashed as soon as the piece went live, even though it had been announced as free in the app.
It was one of the most asked questions since the first trailer: would Rockstar dare to do hurricanes? According to IGN, the studio confirms them to Game Informer, without saying how often they will hit or whether they will affect the story. The official description mentions heavy clouds, strong winds, dense atmosphere and rain pouring off roofs and lampposts, with thunder and lightning in the clouds.
Owen Shepherd, vice president of art for lighting and rendering, says the weather system was rebuilt to be local, persistent and dynamic. You can stand in sunshine on one side of the map and see a storm in the distance. Puddles and rainbows tell you it rained while you were away, and wind moves water, hair and debris.
Aaron Garbut, co-head of Rockstar North, says the map is twice the size of GTA 5's, with the emphasis on density: enough rooftops, alleys and interiors that buildings feel real from the inside. IGN lists six regions: Vice City, Leonida Keys, Grassrivers, Port Gellhorn, Ambrosia and Mount Kalaga National Park. Ambrosia is described as a rural area of factories and refineries run by a biker gang that, per IGN, does not appear to be the Lost MC of earlier games.
Rockstar counts on the story to take players everywhere and to contrast rich and poor areas. For fast travel, the game offers ride-share trips where you share the car with other passengers and their conversations, rather than an empty cab. During the ride you can scroll Snapmatic, the game's Instagram parody, but not post: Jason and Lucia are on the run.
The side activities named by IGN: base jumping, billiards, gyms, kayaking, mini golf, scuba diving, street and off-road racing, zoos, air boating and jet skiing. Polygon adds that NPCs are generated with variations down to freckles, moles, tanning and tattoos. The roughly 170 animal species get their own piece the next day.
Dates and prices are on our release page.
The calendar has not moved since this story: release on November 19, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, preload on November 12, PEGI 18 rating, €79.99 for the standard edition and €99.99 for the Ultimate. No PC version has been announced.
For the first time since August, Rockstar puts words and names on the size and structure of Leonida. The promise is a dense, living world more than a plain enlargement. Whether hurricanes are scenery or events that truly disrupt the game remains open, and Rockstar has not answered.
Sources ign.com · polygon.com · fr.ign.com
By Solange Rocheval · VI Countdown newsroom, OKALAM Studio