Game development is a hard, often thankless job, where devs spend years working extreme hours while pouring their hearts into their craft, and they're often repaid with little more than a pat on the back ahead of the next round of mass layoffs. I say all this to suggest you shouldn't judge Rockstar too hard for its regular GTA 6 research trips in Florida, which saw the devs soaking up the sun and the nightlife in equal measure.
"We go and try to experience everything," senior vice president of narrative Rupert Humphries tells Game Informer, "from riding around areas at night with ex-cops, to going to strip clubs and nightclubs, spending time on the beach, in the Everglades, down in the Keys, and beyond." The team has taken a multitude of such trips for reference material over the years.
Rockstar has a number of subsidiaries based all over the world, but GTA's development is led by Rockstar North in Edinburgh, Scotland, and I have to imagine some of those devs appreciated a little extra sunlight. But honestly? Going clubbing as a work activity sounds like a recipe for a bad time.
And either way, there are plenty of locations outside of the beaches and nightlife, and the game's story will drag Jason and Lucia through many of them. "We don’t have time to take you everywhere, but we want you to be able to explore and get a feel for most of the places, cultures, and vibes," Humphries says. "This game and its stories really thrive in an environment where you have rich people and poor people right next door to each other. And crime and corruption is the thread that pulls everyone together."
Plenty of game studios go on research trips – the American Truck Simulator devs even had to make a stop in my dinky hometown at one point – but the fact that the real-life inspirations behind Leonida and Vice City are such tourist destinations and nightlife hubs does make these particular trips seem a little more enviable than most. But personally, as a resident of Missouri, I get my fill of suffocating heat and humidity six months out of the year without having to meet any Florida men.
Here are all the GTA 6 locations we've learned about so far.
