GTA 6: Rockstar Researched Florida With Cops and Gang Members
Rockstar's Aaron Garbut says the team toured Florida with police officers and gang members to shape the world of Leonida.
Image: © Rockstar Games
To build the fictional Florida of GTA 6, Rockstar went into the field. According to Dexerto and IGN, Aaron Garbut, the studio's head of development, told Love Magazine that teams travelled around the state with police officers and also with gang members.
A gradual method
Garbut describes a step-by-step process. A small group first sets out from Miami, passes through nearby towns and heads down the Keys to Key West, noting locations and discussing how to translate them into the game. More developers then join the trips. "We travel around with cops and with gang members," he says.
He adds some nuance: some of the people they met could be scary, but those who guided the team were among the nicest it has met, even if the stories and places they showed could be terrifying. He also mentions a low flight over the Everglades' mangrove inlets, followed by hovering above a stadium during a Beyoncé concert. The next day, he recalls, the team probably made the local news.
What we already knew
GTA 6 takes players back to Vice City and the state of Leonida, modelled on real Florida. Dexerto notes that Rockstar has also said the map is so large that story missions will not cover all of it. Garbut says the goal is a "believable and varied" world; according to Dexerto, these trips can also feed pedestrian chatter, fake radio shows and adverts.
What we don't know yet
It is unclear which places, characters or scenes were inspired by these encounters. None of the sources consulted gives those details. It also remains to be seen how these stories will shape the tone of Leonida's neighbourhoods.
In the meantime, explore our interactive map of Leonida. And to catch what comes next, follow GTA 6 Universe on X: which research anecdote stood out most to you?