Grand Theft Auto 6's Vice City and surrounding areas will be nearly as large as Grand Theft Auto 4, Grand Theft Auto 5, and Red Dead Redemption 2 combined, Rockstar revealed in an interview with Edge magazine. The enormous size comes with density: Rockstar North's co-studio head states that GTA 6 contains "an order of magnitude more interiors" than the developer's previous games.
The project also adjusts time progression from GTA 5. When Rockstar tested applying the previous game's timing system, the studio found that "everything felt too fast" and had to recalibrate to maintain the open world's believability. The decision reflects lessons the developer brought from Red Dead Redemption 2 to this new title.
Rockstar invested heavily in NPC detail. Approximately 600,000 animations were created exclusively for pedestrians, each equipped with individualized personality traits. Factors such as temperament and the player's own aggression influence how NPCs react to different situations, aiming to make crowds feel like real people rather than procedural filler.
Head of development Aaron Garbut described the effort metaphorically: "I feel like we've built a pyramid on Everest," capturing the challenge of meeting monumental expectations for a game 13 years in the making since GTA 5. Rockstar also confirmed that GTA 6 will offer more of an RPG experience than any other game in the series, letting players shape their playstyle, whether through detailed roleplay or action-focused gameplay.
