Game Informer’s GTA 6 cover story went live on 29 September 2026: 14 pages, 12 exclusive screenshots and interviews with five Rockstar leads. The headline news is the weather, with seasonal tropical storms and hurricanes, and the wildlife, with more than 170 animal species across Leonida. Rockstar also confirmed the map is about twice the size of GTA V’s. Here is everything new, and what the story still leaves open, seven weeks before release on 19 November 2026.
How to read the Game Informer GTA 6 cover story
The digital edition of issue 382 is free in the Game Informer app on iOS and Android. On gameinformer.com, the full feature, “Grand Theft Auto VI: Welcome to Leonida”, sits behind the subscription, while the weather and wildlife exclusives are free to read. The site and the app went down under the traffic on launch day, as GameRant and Beebom reported. The print issue follows in the coming weeks. The story is written by senior associate editor Marcus Stewart, who grew up in South Florida.
Does GTA 6 have hurricanes?
Yes. Game Informer confirms seasonal tropical storms and hurricanes. During the big storms, heavy clouds roll in, the wind picks up and torrential rain pours off roofs, gutters and street lights, with thunder and lightning lighting up the clouds, according to Dexerto and Kotaku, who read the full feature. What nobody knows yet is how often the storms hit and whether they change missions or the story: Game Informer says so itself.
Day to day, the weather is far more local than in GTA V:
- Cloud formations move across the map, from clear skies to full overcast.
- Showers are localized: you can stand in the sun and watch rain fall a few blocks away.
- Puddles and wet surfaces stay after the rain, so you can tell it has just rained.
- Rainbows appear after a shower when the light is right.
- A new wind system: land breezes after sunset, rising warm air, buildings that block the wind, ripples on the water and swamp grass bending in the gusts.
Owen Shepherd, Rockstar’s vice president of art for lighting and rendering, told Game Informer the team re-engineered the weather system to make it more local and more persistent.
How many animals are in GTA 6?
More than 170 species on land, in the air and at sea, several of them new to a Rockstar game. Game Informer names native animals, flamingos, manatees, pelicans and alligators, and invasive ones that really live in Florida: green iguanas, cane toads, feral cats and rhesus macaques. Yes, Florida has monkeys. Dexerto, Kotaku and VGC add that the count includes more than 60 kinds of birds and more than 30 land mammals, plus reptiles and fish, with sharks, whales, turtles and jellyfish offshore.
Some animals are ranked Rare, Discoverable or Legendary and can be tracked, but Rockstar has not said which ones. Michael Kane, vice president of dynamic art, explained the goal as recreating Florida’s ecosystem across every part of Leonida, from city streets to the ocean and the Everglades-style swamps. Fur reacts to the environment, matted with dirt or soaked with water, a step on from Red Dead Redemption 2.
How big is the GTA 6 map?
About twice the size of GTA V’s, and Rockstar’s biggest map “by some degree”, according to Aaron Garbut, as reported by VGC and Insider Gaming. Garbut also stresses the density: rooftops, alleyways and far more interiors than in any previous Rockstar game. Rockstar has still not given a figure in square miles; the estimates going around are calculations by journalists. Rob Nelson had already said the map was about twice as big in September, so the size itself is a confirmation rather than a scoop. Our GTA 6 map page covers the six regions.
One consequence, from Rupert Humphries, senior vice president of narrative, as reported by Dexerto: the story moves you around Leonida, but it cannot take you everywhere. Seeing the whole map will mean exploring on your own.
Will GTA 6 have Disney World or Orlando?
Probably not as such. Paul MacPherson, senior vice president of environment art, told Game Informer that Leonida may not have those exact places, Orlando, Disney World or the NASA space center, because Rockstar picks its landscapes for what the game needs while aiming for the full experience of Florida, as Kotaku and GameRant reported. That is a “may not”, not a firm no.
How did Rockstar research Florida?
On the ground, for years: night ride-alongs with former police officers, strip clubs and nightclubs, the beaches, the Everglades and the Keys, according to Humphries in the feature, as quoted by GamesRadar. The result shows in the crowds. Game Informer and TheGamer describe far more varied characters on the street, with different heights, builds and body shapes, freckles, moles and tan lines, and tattoos, hairstyles and facial hair true to Leonida’s communities.
What new activities did Game Informer confirm?
BASE jumping, pool, the gym, kayaking, mini golf, scuba diving, street and off-road racing, a zoo, airboats and jet skis, as listed by VGC and Insider Gaming. Pool, mini golf and the zoo are the new names; most of the others had already been spotted in the gameplay video of 27 August. Our GTA 6 gameplay page keeps the full list.
Who did Game Informer interview?
- Aaron Garbut, head of development at Rockstar North.
- Rupert Humphries, senior vice president of narrative.
- Paul MacPherson, senior vice president of environment art.
- Owen Shepherd, vice president of art for lighting and rendering.
- Michael Kane, vice president of dynamic art.
What the cover story does not say
- How often hurricanes happen, and whether they affect missions.
- Whether hunting and fishing are full activities: tracking animals is confirmed, and one screenshot shows Jason with a rifle near deer, but the free text says no more.
- The map size in square miles.
- Which animals are Legendary.
- Anything new about GTA 6 Online.
The release date does not move: 19 November 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Our GTA 6 countdown tracks the days left, and the GTA 6 pre-order page lists the best current price.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Game Informer GTA 6 issue free?
The digital issue is free in the Game Informer app. On the website, the full feature is for subscribers, while the weather and wildlife exclusives are free.
Does GTA 6 have hurricanes?
Yes, seasonal tropical storms and hurricanes, with heavy rain, strong wind and lightning. How often they hit is not known yet.
How many animals are in GTA 6?
More than 170 species, including alligators, flamingos, manatees, iguanas, rhesus macaques, sharks and whales. Some are Rare or Legendary and can be tracked.
Is the GTA 6 map bigger than GTA 5?
Yes, about twice as big, according to Rockstar’s Aaron Garbut, with many more interiors.
Are there monkeys in GTA 6?
Yes. Rhesus macaques, an invasive species that really lives in Florida, are among the animals Game Informer confirmed.
Sources: Game Informer issue 382 and its weather and wildlife exclusives (29 September 2026), VGC, Insider Gaming, Dexerto, Kotaku, GamesRadar, GameRant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, Comicbook and Beebom (29 and 30 September 2026). Checked on 1 October 2026.