GTA 6: Rockstar Devs Hit Strip Clubs and Patrolled Nights with Ex-Cops for Authentic Florida Research

Rockstar Games has pulled back the curtain on the extreme measures its team took to capture the real essence of Florida for GTA 6. In an interview with Game Informer, Rupert Humphries, senior vice president of narrative, shared that developers immersed themselves in Miami and South Florida, visiting strip clubs and cruising around at night with former police officers.

"We go and try to experience everything… from riding around areas at night with ex-cops, to going to strip clubs and nightclubs, spending time on the beach, in the Everglades, down in the Keys, and beyond," Humphries explained.

While Rockstar has depicted Florida before in earlier GTA titles, the last game to feature Vice City—the series' stand-in for Miami—was 2006's Vice City Stories. GTA 6, however, is set in the present day, and much has changed over the past two decades.

Gameplay and screenshots have already given fans a taste of how GTA 6 will bring Florida—known in-game as Leonida—to life. The map boasts six distinct regions: Vice City, Leonida Keys, Grassrivers, Port Gellhorn, Ambrosia, and Mount Kalaga National Park. Players can engage in activities like kayaking, street and off-road racing, and air boating. We've also caught glimpses of nightclub and beach gameplay, among other things.

Of course, the strip clubs are a hot topic, especially after a high-profile GTA 6 gameplay leak that also revealed a nudist town full of naked characters. The leaked footage showed full male and female nudity, but it's important to note that this was unofficial and Rockstar hasn't released any official strip club gameplay yet—and may not before launch.

None of this should come as a shock, given it's GTA 6. Most GTA games include strip clubs, though not all are accessible to players. Clearly, GTA 6 is taking things up a notch, as it does with many features from previous entries.

We've compiled all the major new details from Game Informer's GTA 6 cover story, and there's plenty more from IGN's recent visit to Rockstar North. GTA 6 is set to launch in November on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S.