Following the Netflix gameplay footage, an exclusive cover story on GTA 6 is coming in the U.S. magazine Game Informer. We’ve got a summary and are sharing new screenshots.
GTA 6 update: an exclusive cover story in the U.S. magazine Game Informer caused servers to crash and provided the community with more information as well as twelve new screenshots from the game by developer Rockstar Games.
The website’s servers were down, and the Game Informer app was unavailable for quite some time. But now we have all the news from the article for you.
Game Informer Summary: Here’s the New Info on GTA 6
All the details from the big preview:
About the Open World
- The GTA 6 map, featuring the Leonida region, is the largest of any Rockstar game and about twice as big as the one in GTA 5. There are six zones mentioned in the article:
- Vice City: The metropolis with Art Deco architecture, beaches, a cruise ship terminal, and heavy traffic.
- Leonida Keys: A chain of islands modeled after the real Florida Keys.
- Grassrivers: A swampy area based on the Everglades, featuring alligators and a history as a drug-smuggling route.
- Port Gellhorn: Represents run-down tourist areas with old attractions, budget motels, and dilapidated shopping centers.
- Ambrosia: The industrial heartland full of factories, refineries, and a biker gang.
- Mount Kalaga: A national park on the northern border with a rural feel, inspired by cities like Panama City, Jacksonville, and Ocala.
- Rockstar has confirmed the following side activities in the open world:
- Base jumping
- Playing pool
- Going to the gym
- Kayaking
- Playing mini-golf
- Snorkeling
- Street & off-road racing
- Visiting zoos
- Riding a swamp boat
- Riding a jet ski
- There’s a new satellite view map to help you find your way around.
- GTA 6 features over 170 animal species. As in Red Dead Redemption 2, there are “rare, discoverable, and legendary” specimens of each species.
You can find the twelve new screenshots from the 14-page preview at Reddit:
Main Characters and NPCs
- Jason Duval is a U.S. Army veteran who works for drug smugglers in the Keys; Lucia Caminos is from Liberty City and is a recently released convict.
- Your decisions and shared activities influence whether Jason and Lucia have a romantic or more friendly relationship. Cutscenes are adjusted accordingly.
- The story can also change to a certain extent, depending on the relationship level between the two protagonists. This is intended to encourage multiple playthroughs.
- NPCs have different body types with variations in height and weight. Muscles are simulated individually, which is why the chest, stomach, and buttocks may stand out to varying degrees.
- The typical clothing of NPCs depends on where you are in the open world—as well as on the weather.
- A dedicated Rockstar team in Los Angeles is responsible for the NPC dialogues you’ll hear while cruising through the open world.
Gameplay
- On your smartphone, you’ll have the ride-share app “RydeMe” for quick trips, as well as social media platforms (such as Snapmatic, a parody of Instagram). Using an in-app feature called “WaINK,” you can scan car features and determine their resale value.
- To steal more valuable cars, you may need better tools. Particularly advanced cars may also be equipped with trackers.
- You can carry out heists either loudly and quickly or more quietly and thoroughly.
About the Weather
- There are hurricanes (tornadoes) in the game.
- The dynamic weather in the open world is localized. So it can be raining in one place while the sun is shining elsewhere.
- Rain has realistic effects on the environment, creating rainbows, persistent puddles, and surfaces that remain wet even after the shower has passed.
- Wind is also very dynamic; it’s influenced by the environment and affects hair, water, and plants.
Furthermore, some aspects of GTA 6’s gameplay and open world remain unclear because they haven’t been shown in the Netflix gameplay footage yet.
You don’t need to subscribe to Game Informer for the GTA 6 preview
The article is available for free in the Game Informer app, as Rockstar points out on the social media platform X:
We’ve partnered with @gameinformer to make today’s Grand Theft Auto VI cover story free in the Game Informer app.
Read it now, and subscribe to the print edition today to receive it as your first issue: https://t.co/nFumDNxN7O pic.twitter.com/kTBd8UJtbJ
— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) September 29, 2026
If you’d rather read the preview on read in your browser, you’ll need to subscribe to about 90 euros an annual online subscription to the magazine with twelve issues. There’s no option to buy just one issue—unless you’re willing to wait for the print edition to arrive by mail.
On the other hand, if you’d rather play GTA 6 without any prior knowledge when it releases on November 19, 2026, or if you’re just not interested in Rockstar’s next big open-world game, you’ll still find plenty of exciting articles on current and popular games at GlobalESportNews. We’ve linked some of them for you in the box above.
