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'

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

<![CDATA[ <article> <ul><li><strong>Rockstar Games has been working on </strong><em><strong>Grand Theft Auto 6</strong></em><strong> for 11 years, as the artists needed to plan out the map first</strong></li><li><strong>The game's roads are much narrower and denser than </strong><em><strong>GTA 5</strong></em><strong>'s, which created "ripple effects," according to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier</strong></li><li><strong>Schreier says head of development Aaron Garbut told him, "All these things sort of come [back] to bite you later"</strong></li></ul><p>Rockstar Games has reportedly been working on <a href="https://www.techradar.com/gaming/gta-6" target="_blank"><em>Grand Theft Auto 6</em></a> much longer than realized, since the studio needed to plan out the game's ambitious map first.</p><p>That's according to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, who shared more details about his visit to Rockstar North in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ5iiT8IqY0" target="_blank">YouTube</a> video after releasing his behind-the-scenes <em>GTA 6</em> <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2026-grand-theft-auto-6-making-of/?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc5MjQyMTgwOCwiZXhwIjoxNzkzMDI2NjA4LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUTVc2R0tSS1YyVFYwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJCMUVBQkI5NjQ2QUM0REZFQTJBRkI4MjI1MzgyQTJFQSJ9.MyS89uNBxO0wxhWw2OHMiKLJhhR_hHlG5pqw_7smIGw&leadSource=article-gifting" target="_blank">article</a>.</p><p>While it's common knowledge that full-scale development of <em>GTA 6</em> began around 2018 and was originally planned to be made alongside <em>Red Dead Redemption 2</em>, pre-production on the game actually began much earlier. </p><p>"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 <em>GTA 6</em> for more than 11 years since 2015, if not earlier," Schreier said. "2015 is when Rockstar started kind of planning out <em>GTA 6</em> in the sense that it was conversations before like before that."</p><p>Schreier explained that <a href="https://www.techradar.com/gaming/five-big-new-details-about-grand-theft-auto-6-map-size-confirmed-170-animal-species-revealed-a-wild-new-dynamic-weather-system-and-more">the game's massive map, which is twice as big as <em>GTA 5</em>'s world and more densely populated and interactive</a>, was a priority for the studio and the first thing it planned.</p><div class="youtube-video" data-nosnippet ><div class="video-aspect-box"><iframe data-lazy-priority="high" data-lazy-src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/lZ5iiT8IqY0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div><p>"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. </p><p>He added that gradually over the next couple of years, top leadership then mobilized everyone to work on <em>Red Dead Redemption 2</em>, as the game needed a lot of help due to its ambitious systems. However, a few artists continued work on <em>GTA 6</em>'s map.</p><p>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 <em>GTA 6</em> than they were in <em>GTA 5</em>," which fans may have noticed in the trailers.</p><p>This created a more realistic depiction of a fictional Los Angeles, and less like a racing game with wider spaces to zip through like <em>GTA 5</em>. However, Rockstar's goal of making <em>GTA 6</em>'s map have narrower roads and denser traffic from the beginning presented some technical challenges, or what Schreier called "ripple effects."</p><p>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.</p><p><em>GTA 6 </em>launches in under one month, on November 19, for <a href="https://www.techradar.com/reviews/ps5">PS5</a>, <a href="https://www.techradar.com/reviews/xbox-series-x">Xbox Series X</a>, and <a href="https://www.techradar.com/gaming/xbox-series-s-1tb-review">Series S</a>. Rockstar recently released <a href="https://www.techradar.com/gaming/grand-theft-auto-6s-launch-trailer-is-here-giving-fans-a-deeper-look-at-jason-and-lucias-crime-fueled-story">the cinematic <em>GTA 6</em> launch trailer, which offers a deeper look into the game's story. </a>Elsewhere, a new report claims <a href="https://www.techradar.com/gaming/gta-6-will-reportedly-launch-on-pc-in-early-2027-and-fans-believe-its-so-rockstar-can-avoid-clashing-with-the-ps5-emulator-breathing-down-their-necks">the PC version could launch in early 2027</a>.</p> </article> ]]>