GTA 6: All the Big New Details Unveiled Today – Animal Species, Side Activities, and Fast Travel

Game Informer's GTA 6 coverage has revealed a wealth of new information about Rockstar's highly anticipated game, and we've compiled all the major takeaways.

In the story, Rockstar shared fresh details about GTA 6's ambitious weather systems, the wildlife and NPCs that populate the world, and the scale of the map.

Rockstar has accomplished one of the most speculated features: hurricanes. Fans hoped to see Florida's most significant weather event replicated in GTA 6, but given the intensity of hurricanes, many questioned if it was technically feasible. In an interview with Game Informer, Rockstar confirmed hurricanes will be featured, but declined to say how often they'll occur or if they'll impact the story.

As for how they'll be depicted, expect "heavy clouds, strong winds, dense atmospherics, and a lot of rain combine so that everything is dripping wet, water is gushing off roof edges and lampposts, thunder rumbles and flashes of lightning light up the clouds dramatically."

Owen Shepherd, Rockstar's VP of art for lighting and rendering, confirmed the studio re-engineered its weather system to allow for localized, persistent, and dynamic weather. Players can bask in sunshine in one part of the map while seeing a rainstorm in the distance. The game will also feature rainbows and puddles, letting players travel through an area and deduce that it recently rained there without having been present. Additionally, wind will create ripples in water, blow hair around, and push debris across the world.

Aaron Garbut, co-studio head of Rockstar North, confirmed that GTA 6's map is twice as big as GTA 5's, with an emphasis on density. The setting is a fictionalized version of Florida known as Leonida.

"This new world is different," Garbut said. "We obsessed about every part – the rooftops, the alleys, the internals and everything in between to the point we hit a critical mass with the numbers of our interiors, and you start to feel the buildings are more real inside and out. This world is a cohesive whole with the density of content and a hand-crafted quality to every bit."

GTA 6's map will feature six distinct regions. The most prominent is Vice City, a location fans know from 2002's GTA: Vice City. The other regions of Leonida include Leonida Keys, Grassrivers, Port Gellhorn, Ambrosia, and Mount Kalaga National Park.

Ambrosia is a more rural area with factories and refineries, dominated by a biker gang that controls the region. This gang appears to be different from the Lost MC, which was prominently featured in GTA 4 and GTA 5.

With such a massive map, GTA 6 may feel daunting to explorers. However, Rockstar plans to use the story to guide players around the map and showcase different areas. This won't cover every inch, but it will highlight the stark contrast between affluent parts of Leonida and poorer areas.

GTA has historically allowed players to hail a cab for fast travel, but Red Dead Redemption 2 was more restrictive. You could fast travel from town to town, but not to specific points. GTA 6 will let you hop into a ride-share car and zip around town—but ride-sharing means sharing. Players can share rides with other passengers and have unique conversations.

If you'd rather not chat or sightsee, you can doomscroll on Snapmatic, the game's parody of Instagram.

Players won't be able to post on the app themselves, as Jason and Lucia are on the run and would risk danger by being overly active on social media.

GTA 6 will feature a boatload of side activities; here are just some revealed in Game Informer's story:

• Base Jumping • Billiards • Gyms • Kayaking • Mini Golf • Scuba Diving • Street & Off-Road Racing • Zoos • Air Boating • Jet Skiing

Fans will be able to see and interact with 170 different types of animals. This includes over 60 birds, over 30 land mammals, and a variety of fish and reptiles. The extended gameplay reveal in August confirmed players can pet dogs, and if it's anything like Red Dead Redemption 2, this will presumably extend to other animals like cats.

"Florida has a diverse animal ecosystem that we wanted to faithfully include across the different biomes in Leonida – urban and rural environs, aquatic life both inland and ocean, and the wetland habitats like the swamps and Everglades," explained Michael Kane, Rockstar's vice president of dynamic art. "The animal art and population teams are incredibly passionate about delivering animals that are accurately researched and look visually correct in every respect, alongside the supporting movement and animation to bring them to life."

Rockstar confirmed that GTA 6 features different shark species, jellyfish, whales, turtles, and rays in the sea. They will have "distinct movement behavior" and can be encountered while scuba diving.

One screenshot in Game Informer's story shows Jason approaching deer in the wild with a rifle slung over his back. This suggests some form of hunting will return. Hunting was a minor, half-baked feature in GTA 5, but it returned with much more depth in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Players will be able to track animals as they did in Red Dead Redemption 2. Rockstar also confirmed there will be rare animal types, but didn't reveal any.

Robberies are a central part of the game, and players will have many choices in how to pull them off. Do they go as a duo? Alone? Loud? Quiet? Your choices will determine the level of police response.

Jason and Lucia can shake the cops together or split up, leaving one to take the bulk of the heat. However, if either protagonist gets overwhelmed by police, it's game over.

Higher-end cars require special tools to steal, and if successful, they may have trackers or security systems that create new obstacles. Players can use an app called WAiNK to check a car's resale value, security system, and the cost to make it their personal vehicle. If you want to offload it, you'll need to take it to a fence.

The two protagonists, Jason and Lucia, may long for a romantic relationship, but it's up to the player to decide if they go beyond platonic. Players can essentially court the characters by taking them on dates, paying attention when they call or text, and being chivalrous by opening doors or holding hands.

GTA 6's story will be ripe for multiple playthroughs. Rockstar confirmed that choices big and small will influence not only Jason and Lucia's relationship but the story as a whole, encouraging players to replay to see alternative story threads.

"As the pressure for us on this project is huge, we dealt with that by doing our best to overdeliver," said Rockstar North co-studio head Aaron Garbut. "Normally you compromise scale for detail or detail for interaction, but with this project we went the other way - everything is dialed up – detail, scope, breadth, scale, interaction and density. I don't think we have ever created anything close to this before."

Rockstar has created a wide variety of NPCs that vary in height, weight, skin type, and more. Characters can get a tan, have moles, and even the sizes of their butts and chests will vary from person to person.

GTA 6 will feature a ton of clothing options, which players can acquire with their ill-gotten gains. NPCs will also be dressed differently based on their location. In more impoverished areas, expect dirtier or weathered clothing.

"We've been able to really go hard on that with creating the biggest range of garments and accessories we've ever made – supported with rich, realistic materials," Kane says. "That surfacing includes color, patterns and branding that are both area-appropriate, but also tied to context (states of dirt/weathering and fitment) for the characters themselves and their social situation and how they inhabit Leonida. Shoes, sneakers, and colorways that we know carry cultural weight as items – likewise watches, sunglasses, or hats."