Rockstar Games’ LA-based studio is ‘dedicated almost solely’ to the design of GTA 6’s NPCs
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Rockstar Games is reportedly putting major resources into making Grand Theft Auto 6’s inhabitants and setting feel more detailed and locally believable, with its Los Angeles studio focused largely on designing the game’s pedestrians. The work matters because it suggests Rockstar is seeking a more reactive, visually varied open world than in earlier GTA titles, where characters reflect both their surroundings and the player’s actions.
Dazed Magazine reported that Rockstar has more than doubled in size since Red Dead Redemption 2 launched in 2018, with studios worldwide contributing to GTA 6. It said more than 50 street artists created murals for Vice City areas, while Miami stylist Jillian Carr advised on local fashion; NPCs are expected to vary by age, appearance, clothing and neighbourhood, from Little Cuba to Mount Kalaga National Park. The report also says protagonists Jason and Lucia’s bodies will change with food, sleep and exercise, and pedestrians may react to behaviour such as openly carrying a rifle.
- Rockstar’s LA studio reportedly focuses on GTA 6’s pedestrians.
- NPCs are expected to be more varied and reactive.
- Vice City’s design draws on Miami artists and fashion expertise.
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Grand Theft Auto is a long-running series of crime-themed video games made by Rockstar Games. Its games place players in large fictional cities, where they can follow a main story as well as explore streets, shops and other activities.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is expected to be set partly in Vice City, Rockstar’s fictional version of Miami, and follows two main characters, Jason and Lucia. People seen around the game world who are controlled by the computer are known as non-player characters, or NPCs.
How these pedestrians look and react can shape whether an open-world setting feels convincing and varied. Rockstar has studios in several countries, and the game is a major release for the company after the success of 2018’s Red Dead Redemption 2.