GTA 7 setting and Rockstar’s comments on going international, Digi Mart USA News (United States): The massive GTA 6 map includes multiple regions of Leonida, and it again places players in the United States. Vice City, a satirical version of Florida inspired by Miami, is familiar to players from the 2002 GTA: Vice City and is another Rockstar title set in the country.
In a Guardian interview, Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson described how the team researched the GTA 6 locations. He said developers stayed out in a Miami nightclub until 4 am, visited a racetrack hours later while inebriated, joined police officers for shifts and scouted eccentric bars in the Florida Keys.
Asked whether GTA 7 or a future title would leave the U.S., Nelson replied, “Never say never, but there’s still so much to do in America.” He added that the Scotland-based studio may be more fascinated with the setting than local players, and argued, “I think we’re all outsiders to this version of America.”
The Guardian interview is paywalled, and the report notes that the studio has not announced a GTA 7 release date. According to the publisher report, a 2018 leak claimed the GTA 6 project originally involved parts of South America, and Rockstar verified the Project Americas report and said stretched resources led to a downsized vision.
In a Bloomberg interview, Technical Director Phil Hooker said the engine designed for GTA 6 can be used in upcoming projects, which could ease the challenges of researching and rendering a foreign country. Nelson, however, appears eager to explore a new United States city.
