Rockstar Games, the developer of the Grand Theft Auto series, will portray politics in Leonida—the fictional state inspired by Florida—in Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA VI) through exaggerated situations without directly recreating specific people or events. The team wants the world to feel contemporary while ensuring its satire—criticism delivered through humor and exaggeration—still works even after the news cycle has moved on.

Rupert Humphries, Rockstar’s senior vice president of narrative, explained the approach in an interview about the game’s creation. He said the team prefers to create its own distorted versions of current phenomena rather than reproduce them literally.

“If you’re going to invest that much effort into creating a version of today’s world, it needs to be more exaggerated, more insane, more direct,” Humphries said. In his view, satire should start with something recognizable and amplify its most absurd aspects.

Politics will also appear in elements scattered throughout the environment, not just in conversations with characters. Humphries cited election signs, campaign robocalls and radio shows discussing public issues.

The executive said Rockstar doesn’t want to tie the game to a specific person, event or movement, so it won’t be limited to an exact snapshot of the moment when it was made. The idea is to build a fictional, contemporary and more exaggerated Leonida rather than directly recreate present-day Florida.

The construction of this world began with research trips across Florida, including Miami, nearby cities and the Florida Keys archipelago in the southern part of the state. Aaron Garbut, head of development and co-head of studio at Rockstar North, a Rockstar Games studio, said the team returned to these places and spoke with residents to bring different aspects of the region into the game.

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