GTA 6 took a decade of Miami research and nearly 5,000 people, Rockstar tells the Guardian

The Guardian’s Keza MacDonald visited Rockstar North in Edinburgh and spoke to Rob Nelson, co-studio head and head of development, along with Rockstar’s Jennifer Kolbe and lead writer Rupert Humphries. The interview ran on November 11. Confirmed

We haven’t been able to read the Guardian article directly. This report is based on detailed write-ups from GTA BOOM and other outlets, listed under Sources.

Miami research started in 2015

Nelson said Rockstar North’s first trips to Miami for the game were in 2015, more than ten years before launch. Confirmed The aim at first was to soak up the city and its history before any detailed planning, he said. The research then covered neighbourhoods, nightlife and the Florida Keys. It included police ride-alongs around South Beach, and a night at a club until 4 a.m. followed a few hours later by laps of a racetrack. Confirmed

Asked whether locals ever recognised them, Nelson said the team is “always semi-undercover”, though a group of visitors still stands out in some neighbourhoods. Confirmed

That fits what Rockstar has said before. Nelson told TroisCouleurs in the summer that work on GTA 6 began in 2015 with a small group, while most of the studio was finishing Red Dead Redemption 2. More from Nelson’s earlier interviews.

Almost 5,000 people

The team behind GTA 6 numbers almost 5,000 people, the Guardian reports. That is up from the “more than 4,000” figure reported earlier. Reported Nelson said the game is now too big for any one person to keep in their head, so a small group of long-serving staff oversees it. That group includes Humphries, who has been at Rockstar since 2008. Confirmed

Kolbe said Rockstar took the same approach with GTA IV’s New York, sending lifelong New Yorkers to parts of the city they had never visited, then building that experience into the game. Confirmed

What the demo showed

Nelson played a live build for the Guardian. GTA BOOM’s summary picks out a few small details: Reported

• Jason eats a donut with one hand while holding a beer in the other.
• Running with a six-pack, he carries it in the crook of his arm, and the bottles slosh.
• During a jewellery-store robbery, Nelson was briefly annoyed that a guard’s feet weren’t placed quite right.

None of this changes what we know about how GTA 6 plays. See our gameplay guide for the bigger picture.

Could a GTA be set outside America?

Nelson didn’t rule it out. He told the Guardian he would never say never, but that there is still plenty to do in America. Confirmed Rockstar hasn’t announced anything after GTA 6.

More this weekend

The Guardian is reportedly running a longer feature from the same visit in its Saturday magazine this week. Reported We will add anything new from it. The real-world marketing it mentions, from the Kaseya Center sign to the Selfridges collection, is in our Vice City marketing tracker.

FAQ

Sources

• GTA BOOM — How Rockstar spent a decade and almost 5,000 people to create Vice City (Nov 11, 2026)
• Analytics Insight — Rockstar explains how GTA 6 reimagines Miami (Nov 11, 2026)
• World Today News — Rockstar staff researched Miami for GTA VI (Nov 11, 2026)
• Player.One — Nelson on development since 2015