Given that it might be the most expensive game ever made, fans couldn’t be more excited about the new GTA 6 coming out in 2025. The new city? The exciting story? The stunning dynamic weather? The hype is most definitely real!
That last one, in particular, got a lot of hype in the gaming community. Apparently, gamers want to see heavy storms destroying everything in their way.
Will they get that, though? Let’s find out!
Fans’ Initial Speculations
GTA 6 hasn’t come out yet. So, how does anyone know anything about its weather system?
Well, in late 2022, Rockstar Games got hacked, which resulted in more than 90 videos and images of the game getting leaked.
One of these images showed Lucia facing a violent thunderstorm. That snippet got people excited. Fans of the game expected to see more extreme weather dynamics.
We’re talking hurricanes, tornadoes, thunderstorms, and other natural catastrophes that can prompt large-scale destruction and flooding.
Yes, it sounds a bit psychotic to want that, but that’s part of the game’s appeal!
We know what you’re thinking: “These images could have easily been fake. Why would the fans raise their expectations so much?”
That’s a valid question, but it’s not just about the leaks. Let’s take a look at the facts.
The Studio’s Report
The fans’ speculations are all backed up by the fact Rockstar Games is using Rage 9 to develop the game.
The studio claimed the new game engine will allow them to render and animate the water, clouds, and lighting more realistically.
The weather won’t just be a visual element. It’ll affect the surrounding environment and the gameplay. Gusts of wind will disturb the quietness of the beach, and heavy rain will make driving more challenging.
VFX Job Listings
If you’ve been following Rockstar New England for a while now, you know they’ve made a few job listings where they called for VFX artists. These are the people responsible for creating the game’s weather effects, among other things.
Here’s the thing: The listings indicated the developers have been working on an interactive weather system where extreme conditions will wreak havoc around the city.
Naturally, that confirmed the initial speculations of the gaming community, believing they’d see twisters and heavy storms destroying neighborhoods.
Miami’s Weather
We know GTA 6’s Vice City is a parody of Miami. That’s a city famous for its extreme weather. We also know that just because the game takes place in a Miami parody doesn’t mean it’ll mimic its climate.
That’s Rockstar Games we’re talking about, though! It’s the same studio that made Red Dead Redemption 2, one of the most realistic games the world has ever seen. So, it was reasonable to think the developers were aiming to bring an authentic experience.
Miami is one of the most rain-heavy cities in the United States. We’re talking 61.9 inches per year. It also gets around 3 months of extreme thunderstorms accompanied by frequent lightning. You can also find the occasional violent tornadoes, waterspouts, and hails.
Ultimately, Vice City is the perfect place to build a dynamic weather system.
Recent Developments in the Weather Mechanics
As you might’ve guessed, fans have been raising their expectations for a long time. However, everything changed when Rockstar Universe posted a controversial tweet.
Rockstar Universe is a popular Rockstar Games information source. The tweet said the developers of the game scrapped the extreme weather features.
That means the game will only include traditional weather conditions. No one knows why. The account said technical limitations could be the issue. It didn’t provide solid reasons.
Attributing the issue to technical limitations is a valid excuse. After all, developing a realistic simulation of water, snow, wind, and lightning while creating a smooth gaming experience isn’t easy.
That didn’t stop the fans from being outraged, though, with good reason.
It’s 2024; gamers believe modern hardware is capable of rendering inclement weather. Everyone kept referencing Square Enix’s Just Cause 4. The game featured a multitude of weather scenarios, including blizzards, sandstorms, lightning storms, etc.
Here’s the thing: Jacques Kerner, one of the software engineers who worked on the game, explained how the team achieved these weather conditions.
The team had to work with wind patterns and aerodynamic models that wouldn’t work in GTA 6 because the game has different mechanics and algorithms.
Adding Weather Variety After the Launch
Rumor has it that Rockstar Games plans to release several updates after the game’s original launch. That would be a smart move; it’d allow them to implement the ideas they originally sought without overworking the developers.
Who knows? Maybe one of those updates will involve weather variety.
How Extreme Weather Might Affect Your Gameplay
Let’s get real for a second. Yes, we all want to see violent tornadoes and heavy thunderstorms. These elements are visually stunning, but they might ruin your gaming experience, especially in the open-world section.
Think about it: One of the major selling points of the GTA franchise is the freedom of the open world; you can break the law as much as you want.
If you’re trying to escape the cops, however, and a random tornado appears out of nowhere and throws your car to the side, it’d ruin the thrill of the chase.
These extreme weather conditions would be more suitable in climactic scenes to make them more engaging.
Using them during the gameplay in a way that doesn’t disrupt the action would be ideal, but we can’t always get what we want.
What GTA 6’s Weather Will Be Like
Sure, the lack of extreme weather conditions is disappointing, but that doesn’t mean the climate won’t be visually appealing. Rockstar Games always delivers.
GTA 5 had some of the most stunning fog and rain effects we’ve seen at that time, and Red Dead Redemption 2 was even more impressive.
There’s no reason to believe the studio will deliver something any less appealing.
It also doesn’t mean we won’t see any storms at all. They just won’t be as frequent as the fans originally believed. That shouldn’t affect your gaming experience that much.
Wrapping Up
GTA 6’s dynamic weather plans raised the fans’ expectations, only to disappoint them after being mysteriously dropped. It shouldn’t be that big of a deal, though, as most games don’t have that feature anyway.
The game might still include impressive weather effects. We’ll just have to wait and see.
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