Any open-world setting based on real life requires an incredible amount of effort, especially for a gargantuan effort like Grand Theft Auto 6. Much like with previous entries, Rockstar sent team members on a research trip through Florida, and it was certainly a journey.
As outlined in LOVE Magazine’s latest issue, head of development Aaron Garbut said, “Every game we make starts with research trips. It’s where we get to explore both the place and our ideas as a group. To begin, a small group of us spent some time traveling from Miami through some of the surrounding towns and through the Florida Keys down to Key West. This is one of the best parts of the entire project: a car full of friends, driving for days on end, talking about what we want to make and being immersed in the locations and our ideas.”
Of course, that also meant flying, and at one point to close out the day, the team passed over a live concert where Beyoncé was playing. But it’s about more than just sightseeing, as Rockstar likes to go “in-depth” and “hang with locals.”
“We hear lots of stories and learn as much as we can. We travel around with cops and with gang members. Everyone is lovely. Some people are equally scary. We experience the underside as well; although the people who showed us around were among the nicest we’ve met, the stories, the places, the details could be terrifying. We try to build a world that is believable and varied, with depth, so that is the research we need.
“Miami itself is really those extremes — lovely people, incredible wealth, incredible poverty, excess, craziness, the hustle, and showing it all off. That’s our research trips — experiencing those extremes so that we can bring them into our world, and it all finds its way into the game in surprising ways.”
It’s certainly manifested in different ways, right down to how NPCs will dress in different locations. Despite all this realism, however, you probably shouldn’t expect attractions like Disney Park or Universal Studios to appear in-game.
Grand Theft Auto 6 launches on November 19th for Xbox Series X/S and PS5. Suffice it to say that there’s quite a lot that we still don’t know. Even after revealing several of the artists contributing to the soundtrack (which is getting its own physical release), players can look forward to a “dynamic score” and the next “evolution” of in-game radio. Stay tuned for more details en route to launch, and check out our feature for the latest.
