Rockstar artists have been working on GTA 6 for 11 years to plan out the map, co-head says roads are narrower than GTA 5's, which had a 'ripple effect' as the studio had to add even more buildings 'All these things sort of come to bite you later'

Date:
Tue, 20 Oct 2026 11:27:41 +0000

Description:
Rockstar Games has reportedly been working on Grand Theft Auto 6 much longer than realized, since the studio needed to plan out the game's ambitious map first.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Rockstar Games has been working on Grand Theft Auto 6 for 11 years, as the artists needed to plan out the map first The game's roads are much narrower and denser than GTA 5 's, which created "ripple effects," according to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier Schreier says head of development Aaron Garbut told him, "All these things sort of
come [back] to bite you later" Rockstar Games has reportedly been working on Grand Theft Auto 6 much longer than realized, since the studio needed to plan out the game's ambitious map first.

That's according to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, who shared more details about his visit to Rockstar North in a YouTube video after releasing his behind-the-scenes GTA 6 article . While it's common knowledge that full-scale development of GTA 6 began around 2018 and was originally planned to be made alongside Red Dead Redemption 2 , pre-production on the game actually began much earlier. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

"Something that I learned while talking to those folks [the developers at Rockstar North] is that there are a few artists at Rockstar who have actually been working on GTA 6 for more than 11 years since 2015, if not earlier," Schreier said. "2015 is when Rockstar started kind of planning out GTA 6 in the sense that it was conversations before like before that."

Schreier explained that the game's massive map, which is twice as big as GTA
5 's world and more densely populated and interactive , was a priority for
the studio and the first thing it planned. You may like Ex-Rockstar dev gives us the inside scoop on what GTA 6s Extended Look reveals about its protagonists The latest GTA 6 leak shows Vice City from above and the level of detail is simply staggering 'It feels like somebodys wading through your dirty washing' Rockstar says GTA 6 leaks in 2022 felt 'weirdly invasive' and were 'hard to deal with on an emotional level' Some New Things I Learned
About Grand Theft Auto VI And Rockstar - YouTube Watch On "2015 is when they started going to Miami, actually starting working on the map of the game, which is always the first thing that Rockstar does on these big open-world games as they start planning out the map first," Schreier said.

He added that gradually over the next couple of years, top leadership then mobilized everyone to work on Red Dead Redemption 2 , as the game needed a
lot of help due to its ambitious systems. However, a few artists continued work on GTA 6 's map. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.
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Aaron Garbut, art director, current head of development and co-studio head at Rockstar North, also told him that "the roads are significantly narrower in GTA 6 than they were in GTA 5 ," which fans may have noticed in the trailers.

This created a more realistic depiction of a fictional Los Angeles, and less like a racing game with wider spaces to zip through like GTA 5 . However, Rockstar's goal of making GTA 6 's map have narrower roads and denser traffic from the beginning presented some technical challenges, or what Schreier called "ripple effects."

Garbut told Schreier, "All these things sort of come [back] to bite you later," because narrow, denser roads meant the team had to implement more surrounding buildings, and artists have worked on the concept for 11 years.

GTA 6 launches in under one month, on November 19, for PS5 , Xbox Series X , and Series S . Rockstar recently released the cinematic GTA 6 launch trailer, which offers a deeper look into the game's story. Elsewhere, a new report claims the PC version could launch in early 2027 . Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button! The best gaming consoles All the best consoles of this generation

Read our full guide to the best gaming consoles 1. Best overall: PlayStation 5 Slim 2. Best budget: Xbox Series S 3. Best handheld: Nintendo Switch 2 4. Most powerful: PlayStation 5 Pro



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/rockstar-artists-have-been-working-on-gta-6-f or-11-years-to-plan-out-the-map-co-head-says-roads-are-narrower-than-gta-5s-wh ich-had-a-ripple-effect-as-the-studio-had-to-add-even-more-buildings-all-these -things-sort-of-come-to-bite-you-later


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