Game Informer isn't just showing off 12 new GTA 6 screenshots on Tuesday (09/29): according to excerpts other outlets already got early access to, issue 382's cover story treats Leonida's weather and wildlife as the two big topics from the interview with Rockstar's team — and they're not throwaway details, they're what the story itself calls "never-before-shared features."

The piece is written by Marcus Stewart, a Game Informer editor who, per the magazine itself, grew up in South Florida. That matters, because he describes GTA 6's weather system by comparing it to what he's actually lived through: "advanced weather systems that simulate Florida's less sunny weather phenomena," in the phrasing quoted by Dexerto — in other words, not just sun and beaches. GamingBible and Shane the Gamer's readings line up: tropical storms and overcast skies will be part of the game the same way they're part of a real Florida summer, not a rare mission-only event.

The zoo that already showed up, and nobody noticed

Wildlife is the story's second pillar. Stewart describes a "staggering amount" of animals spread across Leonida — "native and exotic," on land, air and sea, per the same passage Dexerto quoted. Dexerto also flags something that slipped past everyone in September: the Netflix "Extended Look," released August 27, already showed an in-game zoo, without anyone connecting it to a broader wildlife system at the time. All three outlets draw the same comparison: Red Dead Redemption 2's animal compendium — not confirmation that the feature will be called that or work the same way, but the closest reference point Rockstar has actually shipped before.

It's worth separating confirmed fact from inference here: Rockstar hasn't used the word "compendium" or detailed any hunting or animal-study mechanic — that's press interpretation drawn from the comparison to Rockstar's own back catalog, not a statement from the developer. What is fact, attributed to Game Informer, is the existence of non-native Florida species inside the game, which suggests "imported" or exotic wildlife as part of the setting, not just the Everglades' usual animals.

Why this isn't just weather and critters

The story ties these two threads to something Rockstar had been signaling for months: a company job listing mentioned "large-scale destruction," and an Amazon product listing referenced "dynamic weather" before any official confirmation — clues Dexerto lists as part of the history behind this story. In other words, Game Informer isn't revealing this out of nowhere: it's confirming, in Rockstar's own words, rumors that had already been circulating since mid-year.

This also connects to what rockstargames.com had already been showing: the game's official hub lists Leonida as nearly double the combined size of every GTA V map — a figure that helps explain why Rockstar is leaning so hard on variable weather and diverse wildlife to fill a world that size without it feeling empty. Anyone wanting that scale context can check the previously published piece on the map's size.

What we still don't know, based on what we've read

None of the outlets checked (Dexerto, GamingBible, Shane the Gamer, Game Informer) has published the 12 screenshots or the full interview text yet — that only arrives with Tuesday's digital issue, September 29. There's also no word, in any open source, on whether the weather system affects gameplay (visibility, vehicle physics, NPC AI) or is purely visual/ambient. Treating that as settled before the story actually drops would go beyond what Rockstar has confirmed so far.

And for readers outside the US

Game Informer's print edition doesn't circulate everywhere, but the digital version — where the 12 screenshots and full text land — is described by international outlets as available Tuesday with no known region lock so far. That means readers elsewhere can follow the full material the same day as the US audience, even without a physical magazine subscription.

With launch set for November 19, Game Informer's story is, so far, the most technical breakdown Rockstar has allowed of how Leonida's world will actually behave — not just what it looks like, but how it changes over time.