By Hassan Sajid · Sep 29, 2026 Updated by Matt Gibbs · Sep 30, 2026 Leonida is roughly twice the size of GTA 5's map, with more interiors. Game Informer's cover story also details police, phone apps and relationships.

Zoom image: Game Informer's GTA 6 cover story revealed a wave of new details about Leonida, its world, and its systems. In this article

A Larger Map With More Interiors Jason and Lucia's Relationship Robberies, Police and the Heat System Phone Apps, Ride-Sharing and the Satellite Map Local Storms, Lasting Puddles and Hurricanes Over 170 Animal Species Highly Detailed NPCs Confirmed Activities The Supporting Cast Around Jason and Lucia Keep reading

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A Larger Map With More Interiors Jason and Lucia's Relationship Robberies, Police and the Heat System Expand Hide TOC ⌄ Phone Apps, Ride-Sharing and the Satellite Map Local Storms, Lasting Puddles and Hurricanes Over 170 Animal Species Highly Detailed NPCs Confirmed Activities The Supporting Cast Around Jason and Lucia Grand Theft Auto VI will bring hurricanes, more than 170 animal species and a player-shaped relationship between Jason and Lucia to Leonida , according to Game Informer's new cover story. The 14-page feature explains how Rockstar is building its version of Florida, from the weather rolling across the state to the wildlife inhabiting it, alongside 12 new screenshots.

It builds on the missions and activities shown in Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look , with more detail on the systems behind that footage. The game remains scheduled for November 19, 2026 , on PS5 and Xbox Series X and S.

Rockstar Games' head developer Aaron Garbut says Leonida is about twice the size of Grand Theft Auto 5 's map . More importantly, he says, it's denser, more detailed, and more interactive, with a lot more interiors. Rockstar Games says it obsessed over every part of the world, the rooftops, the alleys, the building interiors, and the spaces in between, and designed the whole thing as one cohesive environment rather than separate areas that feel disconnected.

There are six main regions: Vice City , the Leonida Keys , Grassrivers , Port Gellhorn , Ambrosia , and Mount Kalaga National Park . Vice City itself has been rebuilt and expanded for a modern setting.

Zoom image: The new GTA 6 screenshot showing the night life of Vice City. The new GTA 6 screenshot showing the night life of Vice City. Outside the city, the map includes swamps, beaches, abandoned tourist attractions, industrial areas, and northern countryside.

Rockstar also mentioned ATV trails, mud parks, demolition derbies, mountain biking, motocross, farms, ranches, golf, and bass fishing.

The northern part of Leonida draws on a different side of Florida. Mount Kalaga sits along the Leonida-Gloriana boundary, the game's equivalent of the Florida-Georgia line. Environment art vice president Paul MacPherson says the team researched Panama City, Jacksonville, Ocala and smaller rural towns.

Lumber operations, communities with private airstrips, and struggling west coast towns helped shape this part of the world.

Game Informer also asked about central Florida's theme parks and the Space Coast, home to Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. MacPherson explained that Rockstar selects landscapes and landmarks to serve the game, rather than reproduce every real location. His answer leaves room for a broader Florida feel without promising those particular attractions.

Zoom image: Swamp area, likely belonging to the Grassrivers. Swamp area, likely belonging to the Grassrivers. Jason and Lucia's Relationship Within that world, Jason and Lucia can be controlled separately or together, with switching available at almost any time. Their story follows a botched score that pulls them into a larger criminal conspiracy.

The relationship system is optional and player-driven. Their bond can stay platonic or develop romantically depending on your choices, but you cannot break the pair up. Holding hands, opening doors for each other, calling regularly, promptly answering calls and texts, and accepting invitations to activities together can build their romantic bond.

There are no gameplay bonuses for either path, but the relationship affects parts of the story.

Rockstar also says choices both big and small can significantly change the story's direction. That gives another playthrough something to explore beyond choosing a different approach to a robbery.

Zoom image: Jason and Lucia together in a GTA VI screenshot. Jason and Lucia remain partners whether their relationship is platonic or romantic. Robberies, Police and the Heat System Robberies can be pulled off alone or together, and you can approach them loud and fast or quiet and thorough.

How far you escalate a crime affects the police response and some missions only become available depending on how much money you have. Robbing places together can also strengthen Jason and Lucia's relationship, tying the crime and relationship systems together.

The Extended Look already showed the return of six-star wanted levels. The cover story adds detail on a new Heat system. Police can use your appearance and location at a crime scene to identify you, so changing your clothes or hairstyle, ditching your getaway vehicle, or splitting up with your partner can help you escape.

If either protagonist gets arrested, you still get the classic "Busted" screen.

Car theft is more involved this time too. Stealing certain vehicles requires special tools and expensive cars can have difficult security systems and trackers. The WAiNK phone app can scan a vehicle and reveal those features, along with the cost of registering it as your personal vehicle and its estimated value if you sell it to a fence.

Zoom image: Crime is a lot more involved than what we've seen in the previous GTA games. Crime is a lot more involved than what we've seen in the previous GTA games. Phone Apps, Ride-Sharing and the Satellite Map Your phone also handles travel around Leonida.

The RydeMe app lets you fast travel by ride-share. If you're sharing a ride, you can chat with other passengers. An updated map resembling satellite imagery helps you find your way around the larger world.

For road trips of your own, the radio stations have new licensed songs and plenty of ads. Away from navigation, Jason and Lucia can browse in-game social media, including the returning Snapmatic. They can view other people's posts, but they won't make their own, since they're wanted criminals.

Rockstar has re-engineered its weather system to make it localized and persistent. Fully dynamic cloudscapes move across Leonida and generate different conditions, so it can be sunny where you are while a storm hits somewhere nearby. Rain can leave persistent puddles and wet surfaces after it stops, and rainbows can appear under the right conditions.

There is also a heavily upgraded wind system that drives a lot of it. Breezes roll in off the water after sunset, warm air rises in updrafts, and tall buildings break up the flow around them. You'll see it in the way hair and loose debris get kicked around on rooftops, how the surface of the water ripples, and how the swamp grass bends.

Tropical storms and hurricanes are also confirmed for Leonida. Major storms come with heavy clouds, powerful winds, torrential rain, dripping environments, water pouring off rooftops and lampposts, thunder, and lightning lighting up the clouds. Rockstar hasn't said yet how often they happen or how they affect missions and the story, though.

Zoom image: Thunder and Lightning can be seen in the dist