GTA 6 Adds Hurricanes And Red Dead Style Legendary Hunts To Vice City
The game's weather isn't merely a matter of swapping between sunny and rainy presets, either. Rockstar says its new system is more localized and persistent, with dynamic cloud formations moving across the map and wind reacting to the surrounding environment. Offshore breezes, convection-driven updrafts, and buildings blocking and redirecting wind can all supposedly affect the world around the player. Strong gusts are said to kick up debris and hair on rooftops, ripple the surface of the water, and bend grass in Leonida's swamps.
The big storms will naturally be considerably more dramatic. Rockstar describes hurricanes and tropical storms bringing heavy rain, powerful winds, dense clouds, thunder, and lightning, with water visibly pouring from rooftops and streetlights as the environment gets thoroughly soaked. This sounds awesome, especially as somebody who lives on the Gulf Coast and has stuck it out through major hurricanes in the past.
Leonida is also reportedly getting a substantial upgrade to its wildlife population. Rockstar says GTA 6 will feature more than 170 animal species across the land, water, and air, including more than 60 types of birds and over 30 land mammals. The roster includes familiar Florida residents such as alligators, flamingos, pelicans and manatees alongside invasive species including green iguanas, cane toads, feral cats and rhesus macaques.
More interestingly, Rockstar is borrowing a feature from Red Dead Redemption 2 for players who want to do more than simply admire the local fauna. Animals can seemingly fall into Rare, Discoverable and Legendary categories, with certain particularly elusive creatures available for players to track down. Rockstar isn't saying which animals qualify as Legendary just yet, so we'll have to wait and see whether Leonida's swamps are hiding some truly ridiculous apex predator.
As if the systems weren't cool enough, the wildlife itself is apparently getting the same obsessive tech treatment as the weather. Rockstar says its animal systems build on technology developed for the Red Dead Redemption series, with details such as iridescence, bioluminescence, translucency, feather types, and new hair and fur systems all represented in the game's creatures. We know from previous reporting that there will be some kind of animal photography minigame, likely similar to the Shoot Animals Photography Challenge in GTA Online.
Grand Theft Auto VI is scheduled to launch November 19 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with an enhanced version launching on PS5 Pro, and a PC version coming eventually, probably. Rockstar still hasn't actually committed to a PC release, but statements from publisher Take-Two's CEO have all but confirmed it's coming; the only question is when. Head over to Game Informer if you want to check out the full article with many more details and more new screenshots, but you'll need to subscribe to the magazine to read it.
