GTA VI's weather is dynamic and localized: storms that move across the map, rainbows and puddles that linger after the rain

We already told you GTA VI will have hurricanes and tropical storms. Now, from the full Game Informer cover story, come the details that make the weather more than a simple “raining / not raining” switch.

The game uses moving storm systems: rain travels across the map, so one area can be getting soaked while another stays completely dry. And when the storm passes, the world doesn’t reset: Owen Shepherd, Rockstar’s vice president of art for lighting and rendering, explains that recently showered areas stay wet, with persistent puddles on the ground, and that under the right lighting conditions the rain can produce realistic rainbows.

Game Informer’s description points to a full staging: heavy clouds, strong winds, dense atmospherics, water gushing off roof edges and lampposts, rumbling thunder and lightning flashes lighting up the clouds. In a state inspired by Florida - where you can watch a downpour one block away while you stay dry - this system promises to be one of the details players notice most, day in and day out, across Leonida.

It all fits the philosophy Aaron Garbut sums up in the same cover story: “normally you compromise scale for detail or detail for interaction, but with this project we went the other way - everything is dialed up”. On November 19 we’ll see for ourselves.