GTA 6 Game Informer Cover Story: Hurricanes, 170+ Animal Species, a Map Twice GTA 5's Size and 12 New Screenshots

Game Informer's GTA 6 cover story is out, and it answers the question fans have argued about since the first trailer: yes, hurricanes and tropical storms hit Leonida. The 14-page story in Issue 382, built on interviews with Rockstar's designers, also puts Leonida's wildlife at more than 170 animal species, has Rockstar's Aaron Garbut calling the map around twice the size of GTA 5's, and lists activities from base jumping and scuba diving to mini golf and trips to the zoo. 12 new screenshots came with it.

It went live at noon Eastern on September 29 and, after days of complaints that it would sit behind a paywall, Game Informer made it free to read in its app. So many people tried at once that the site and app went down, IGN reported. Here is everything new, the full set of screenshots, and how to read it yourself.

Hurricanes and tropical storms are confirmed

This is the headline. The cover story confirms that tropical storms and hurricanes can hit Leonida. The Rockstar designer Game Informer quotes on weather, identified as Shepherd, describes what one looks like, as reported by Insider Gaming: "heavy clouds, strong winds, dense atmospherics, and a lot of rain combine so that everything is dripping wet, water is gushing off roof edges and lampposts, thunder rumbles and flashes of lightning light up the clouds dramatically."

What the story does not say matters too. According to Insider Gaming's reading, Shepherd does not reveal how often the big storms come, or whether they change missions or the story. So "hurricanes are in GTA 6" is now confirmed; "hurricanes flood the map and wreck Vice City" is not.

The everyday weather is getting an upgrade as well. VICE's summary of the story says weather is now "more localized and persistent," meaning conditions can differ from one part of Leonida to another, with dynamic clouds overhead. There is a new wind system, too. In Shepherd's words, it includes "offshore breezes after sunset, convectional updrafts, and occlusion from buildings," and "hair and debris will swirl around on roof-tops; gusts of wind will blow ripples over the water surface and bend the grass in swamps."

One of the 12 new screenshots shows exactly that kind of weather rolling in: a seaplane over the Keys with a storm front and two lightning strikes on the horizon.

We have rewritten our GTA 6 weather and hurricanes guide around the confirmation.

More than 170 animal species

Game Informer's teaser promised a "staggering amount of wildlife – native and otherwise," and the number is big. According to VICE's summary of the story, Leonida has over 170 animal species, including more than 60 types of birds, more than 30 land mammals, and a variety of fish and reptiles. Four are named: manatees, flamingos, pelicans and alligators.

For scale, Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar's benchmark for wildlife and a game set almost entirely outdoors, was sold on "over 200 species" in 2018. GTA 6 is getting close to that in a game about crime in a city.

The screenshots back it up. One shows a Grassrivers wetland at sunrise packed with animals: an alligator in the water, a pink roseate spoonbill taking off, a white-tailed buck, a white crane with a red crown, wood storks and flocks of birds overhead. Another shows alligators circling a swamp dock at night.

Hunting has not been detailed in anything we have seen from the story. But one new screenshot shows a man with a scoped rifle on his back, sitting on an ATV and watching deer drink at a forest stream, which is going to fuel that question until Rockstar answers it.

Our GTA 6 wildlife guide now includes the new figures. The manatee is a nice touch for anyone who has read our piece on Chunkee the Manatee and the Goodtime State.

A map around twice the size of GTA 5's

Rockstar has finally put a scale on it. Insider Gaming reports that Aaron Garbut, one of Rockstar's most senior developers, told Game Informer the map is around twice the size of GTA 5's, and the biggest Rockstar has ever made by "some degree." He did not give a figure in square miles or kilometres.

Garbut's pitch is density rather than size: "This new world is different. We obsessed about every part – the rooftops, the alleys, the internals and everything in between to the point we hit a critical mass with the numbers of our interiors, and you start to feel the buildings are more real inside and out. This world is a cohesive whole with the density of content and a hand-crafted quality to every bit."

That settles what our map size explainer could only report as a creator's claim in August: "twice the size" now comes from Rockstar.

Things to do in Leonida

VICE's rundown of the story lists the activities confirmed so far: base jumping, billiards, gyms, kayaking, mini golf, scuba diving, street and off-road racing, visiting zoos, airboating and jet skiing, with Jason and Lucia able to go on dates such as hikes. Several had hints in earlier footage (the gym and the racing were in the Extended Look), but zoos and mini golf are the surprises.

All 12 new GTA 6 screenshots

Here is the full set Game Informer published with the issue, beyond the ones above:

1. Downtown Vice City at night, with searchlights sweeping up from the Sahara Arena, the game's version of Miami's Kaseya Center, a Ferris wheel and a marina on the waterfront. It lands the same month Rockstar paid Miami-Dade close to $1 million to put "Welcome to Vice City" on the real arena's roof.
2. Jason and Lucia on sun loungers on a packed Vice City beach, while a man runs past with an American flag.
3. A biker bar, all neon and patches, with a pool table in the back.
4. Jason on a chopper, face masked with a bandana, pistol out, as bikers pour out of a roadhouse behind him.
5. Jason with a baseball bat over his shoulder in a shop, next to a register, with someone lying on the floor behind him.
6. Lucia with an assault rifle, masked, crouched behind a barrel and watching a deal at a pickup truck.
7. A crop duster spraying low over a field, next to a water tower and a pickup marked "Tucker's."
8. The Grassrivers wetland, the swamp dock, the hunter on the ATV, the waterfall hike and the storm over the Keys, shown above.

How to read the cover story for free

This changed on the day. Game Informer's announcement said "you can read the digital version on September 29," and its subscribe page, which we checked that morning, was selling a Digital Only Subscription for $39.99, down from $59.99 a year. Fans took that to mean a paywall and pushed back. Shortly before launch the story was opened up, and Game Informer posted on X: "Read today's Grand Theft Auto VI cover story for free in the Game Informer app. You can also subscribe to the print edition and receive this collectible piece of gaming history as your first issue." YouTuber TGG, whose report spread the news, said Rockstar helped make the article free; as far as we can see, neither Rockstar nor Game Informer has said that publicly.

1. Download the Game Informer app and open the GTA VI cover story. No subscription is needed for this story.
2. Or subscribe for the print magazine: Game Informer says new subscribers get the GTA VI issue as their first print issue, "in the U.S. and in 52 countries internationally," with delivery "in the coming weeks," and that the issue "will only be available for a limited time."

The story went live at 11 AM Central (noon Eastern, 9 AM Pacific, 5 PM in the UK) and, IGN reported, Game Informer's website and app crashed "the second the story went live." If the app is still slow, everything new is on this page.

The cover art

Game Informer credits the cover to Rockstar Games: Jason and Lucia in an open pink convertible on the Vice City waterfront, Jason with a pistol and a spare magazine, Lucia in a red bandana. Look for the bag of cash in the footwell, the bullet holes down the side, the iguana on the palm tree and the helicopter you only see reflected in the paint. It follows straight on from The Album's cover art. Every detail, and every other official artwork, is in our GTA 6 wallpaper and artwork guide.

What it adds up to

Seven weeks from launch, this is the most concrete Rockstar has been about Leonida as a place. The Extended Look sold the crime and the characters; this story sells the state itself: weather that moves and differs by region, storms big enough to name, 170-plus species, and a long list of things to do that have nothing to do with a wanted level. Game Informer's GTA V cover story in 2012 was where that game's three protagonists were revealed. This one has already answered two of the most-asked questions about GTA 6's world: whether hurricanes are in, and how big the map is.

GTA 6 Game Informer FAQ

Does GTA 6 have hurricanes?

Yes. Game Informer's cover story confirms that tropical storms and hurricanes can hit Leonida, with heavy rain, strong winds, thunder and lightning. Rockstar has not said how often they happen or whether they affect missions.

How many animals are in GTA 6?

More than 170 species, according to the cover story as summarised by VICE: over 60 types of birds, more than 30 land mammals, and fish and reptiles. Manatees, flamingos, pelicans and alligators are named.

How big is the GTA 6 map?

Around twice the size of GTA 5's, according to Rockstar's Aaron Garbut in the story, which makes it the biggest map Rockstar has made. No exact area has been given.

Is the Game Informer GTA 6 story free?

Yes, in the Game Informer app. The print issue comes with a subscription.

When did the Game Informer GTA 6 issue come out?

The digital issue went live at 11 AM Central (12 PM Eastern) on September 29, 2026. Print copies reach subscribers and newsstands over the following weeks.

Update log

• September 29, 2026 (17:05 UTC): the issue is live. Added the cover story's new details (hurricanes and tropical storms, the localised weather and wind systems, 170-plus animal species, the map size, the activity list), all 12 new screenshots, the release time, and the change that makes the story free in the Game Informer app; replaced the pre-release time estimate and the subscription-only wording.

Sources

• Game Informer - The Grand Theft Auto VI Digital Issue Is Now Live
• Game Informer - Cover Reveal: Grand Theft Auto VI
• Game Informer on X - Read today's Grand Theft Auto VI cover story for free in the Game Informer app
• Insider Gaming - GTA 6 weather system includes thunderstorms and hurricanes
• Insider Gaming - GTA 6's Leonida map is Rockstar Games' biggest map ever created
• Insider Gaming - 12 new gameplay screenshots revealed for Grand Theft Auto 6
• VICE - All new GTA 6 features revealed by Game Informer
• IGN - GTA 6 reveal crashes Game Informer app amid confusion over free coverage
• RockstarINTEL - 12 new GTA 6 screenshots released
• Variety - Red Dead Redemption 2 ecosystem to have over 200 species of animals (2018)