Rockstar North, the Rockstar Games studio responsible for developing Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA VI), has expanded NPC (non-player character) interactions so that the residents of Leonida, the fictional state where the game takes place, can notice actions such as following people or eavesdropping on conversations. When they notice this behavior, they may confront the protagonist, become aggressive, or try to flee, according to Rob Nelson, the studio's co-head.

Nelson shared these details in an interview at Rockstar North's office in Edinburgh, Scotland. He explained that Rockstar wanted to preserve the elements that made previous games in the series work while evolving its systems to a new scale.

“Although we took NPC interaction as far as we could in Red Dead Redemption 2, in this game we're going much further,” Nelson said. Red Dead Redemption 2 is another Rockstar game set in the Old West. In his view, this advancement required a joint effort from the design, programming, animation, and writing teams.

Rockstar devoted time, research, and effort to filling out the state of Leonida and differentiating each of its areas. A team in Los Angeles worked exclusively on NPC dialogue, while the other teams studied human behavior and the rhythm of conversations to build the characters' reactions.

According to Nelson, the goal is for exploration to offer meaningful activities instead of simply repeating optional tasks outside the main story to earn money or improve characters' skills and stats. Nelson described the world of GTA VI as so large that, in his words, there may not be anyone on the team who knows the entire game.

Leonida, the fictional state where GTA VI takes place, includes locations such as Vice City, Leonida Keys, Grassrivers, Port Gellhorn, Ambrosia, and Mount Kalaga National Park.

Grand Theft Auto VI is Rockstar Games' next title, set in Leonida, and will launch on November 19, 2026, for PlayStation 5 (PS5) and Xbox Series X|S.