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Almost 5,000 People and Ten Years: How Rockstar Built GTA 6's Vice City
The Guardian puts the GTA VI team at almost 5,000 people, and Rob Nelson says the first research trips to Miami came in 2015.
The Vice City skyline at sunset in an official GTA VI screenshot.
Image: Rockstar Games · Image source for the Almost 5,000 People and Ten Years: How Rockstar Built GTA 6's Vice City image on rockstargames.com (opens in a new tab). Responsive version; no content alteration.
It started with a few developers wandering around Miami in 2015, trying not to get noticed. Eleven years later, the result is a game the Guardian says was made by almost 5,000 people. A new interview with Rockstar North's Rob Nelson shows how they got from one to the other.
The research trips
Nelson told the Guardian that the first Miami field trips came in 2015, before any organised research. The team rode along with police in South Beach and spent time in bars in the Florida Keys. Asked if anyone recognised them, he said: "We're always semi-undercover."
A team too big for one head
The Guardian puts the team at almost 5,000 people, with a small group of long-serving decision-makers at the top. Nelson's own areas are design, narrative and animation, and he told the paper the game is too vast for any one person to hold in their head.
More to come
The Guardian says a longer piece on the making of the game will run in its Saturday magazine this week.
Our read
That 2015 start date means work on Vice City began only two years after GTA V came out. You can see where the research ended up on our map of Leonida, and read our earlier Rob Nelson story.
Sources
More news
- Launch · Reported
The Real Ocean View Hotel Is Throwing a GTA 6 Launch Party in Miami
The Clevelander South Beach in Miami Beach is hosting a GTA VI launch party on 19 November, from 5 PM to 7 PM, with giveaways and a raffle for the game.Published - Launch · Reported
Where to Watch GTA 6 Launch Night: YouTube Is Running a 24-Hour Livestream
YouTube and Rockstar Games are running a 24-hour GTA VI launch livestream from 12 AM ET on 19 November, with a pre-show an hour earlier.Published
Sources and editorial notes
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Each statement keeps its own source and status. Links open the original publishers.
Opening Reported
It started with a few developers wandering around Miami in 2015, trying not to get noticed. Eleven years later, the result is a game the Guardian says was made by almost 5,000 people. A new interview with Rockstar North's Rob Nelson shows how they got from one to the other.
Status: Opening · Reported
- Published
Source details and history
Why this status: Reported: a named outlet, store page or platform holder states this; Rockstar has not confirmed it in a first-party source reviewed for this story. Statement is the exact body paragraph (link markup removed). Prepared from the source pages read on 2026-11-12; owner decision OWNER-NEWS-20261112-TIPS.
The Guardian — How years of research built Grand Theft Auto VI's obsessively detailed world
- Canonical ID
www.theguardian.com/games/2026/nov/11/a-world-of-its-own-inside-the-making-of-the-most-detailed-grand-theft-auto-yet- Accessed
- Last verified
- Reference
- The Guardian page text, read 2026-11-12
Reviewed by Milos Covilo on . Event revision
r1.The research trips Reported
Nelson told the Guardian that the first Miami field trips came in 2015, before any organised research. The team rode along with police in South Beach and spent time in bars in the Florida Keys. Asked if anyone recognised them, he said: "We're always semi-undercover."
Status: The research trips · Reported
- Published
Source details and history
Why this status: Reported: a named outlet, store page or platform holder states this; Rockstar has not confirmed it in a first-party source reviewed for this story. Statement is the exact body paragraph (link markup removed). Prepared from the source pages read on 2026-11-12; owner decision OWNER-NEWS-20261112-TIPS.
The Guardian — How years of research built Grand Theft Auto VI's obsessively detailed world
- Canonical ID
www.theguardian.com/games/2026/nov/11/a-world-of-its-own-inside-the-making-of-the-most-detailed-grand-theft-auto-yet- Accessed
- Last verified
- Reference
- The Guardian page text, read 2026-11-12
Reviewed by Milos Covilo on . Event revision
r1.A team too big for one head Reported
The Guardian puts the team at almost 5,000 people, with a small group of long-serving decision-makers at the top. Nelson's own areas are design, narrative and animation, and he told the paper the game is too vast for any one person to hold in their head.
Status: A team too big for one head · Reported
- Published
Source details and history
Why this status: Reported: a named outlet, store page or platform holder states this; Rockstar has not confirmed it in a first-party source reviewed for this story. Statement is the exact body paragraph (link markup removed). Prepared from the source pages read on 2026-11-12; owner decision OWNER-NEWS-20261112-TIPS.
The Guardian — How years of research built Grand Theft Auto VI's obsessively detailed world
- Canonical ID
www.theguardian.com/games/2026/nov/11/a-world-of-its-own-inside-the-making-of-the-most-detailed-grand-theft-auto-yet- Accessed
- Last verified
- Reference
- The Guardian page text, read 2026-11-12
Reviewed by Milos Covilo on . Event revision
r1.More to come Reported
The Guardian says a longer piece on the making of the game will run in its Saturday magazine this week.
Status: More to come · Reported
- Published
Source details and history
Why this status: Reported: a named outlet, store page or platform holder states this; Rockstar has not confirmed it in a first-party source reviewed for this story. Statement is the exact body paragraph (link markup removed). Prepared from the source pages read on 2026-11-12; owner decision OWNER-NEWS-20261112-TIPS.
The Guardian — How years of research built Grand Theft Auto VI's obsessively detailed world
- Canonical ID
www.theguardian.com/games/2026/nov/11/a-world-of-its-own-inside-the-making-of-the-most-detailed-grand-theft-auto-yet- Accessed
- Last verified
- Reference
- The Guardian page text, read 2026-11-12
Reviewed by Milos Covilo on . Event revision
r1.
Event source grouping and references
1 source grouped into this one event. Ordered by where a report came from, then by time. Order is not a confidence rating; each claim above has its own status.
Reporting
Lead source
The Guardian (opens source in a new tab)
How years of research built Grand Theft Auto VI's obsessively detailed world
- Published
Supports: Opening, The research trips, A team too big for one head, More to come
Source details
- Source ID
www.theguardian.com/games/2026/nov/11/a-world-of-its-own-inside-the-making-of-the-most-detailed-grand-theft-auto-yet- Accessed
Every claim names its source; links go to the original publishers. The selected image is a local responsive copy of Rockstar Games artwork. Attributions