Bloomberg's GTA 6 development feature - Rockstar opened an LA studio for NPCs, confirms "Project Americas" origin
Bloomberg's Jason Schreier got rare studio access for a sweeping GTA 6 development feature. Key reveals: ① Rockstar opened a dedicated Los Angeles studio just to write and direct NPCs to hit its population goals; ② Rockstar officially confirmed GTA 6 began life as the multi-protagonist, North-and-South-America 'Project Americas,' whose sprawling scope caused multi-year delays; ③ remote work during the pandemic slowed performance capture and overall progress.
Overview
Bloomberg's Jason Schreier secured rare access to Rockstar North in mid-October for a long-form GTA 6 development retrospective — one of the few genuine behind-the-scenes looks before launch.
A whole studio for NPCs. When Rockstar assessed how many NPCs it would need to write and animate to hit its world-density goals, it realized it simply lacked the workforce. Co-studio head Rob Nelson called the projections "horrifying." The fix: a dedicated new Los Angeles studio hiring only writers, producers and directors, with one job — bringing NPCs to life. That helps explain reports of 600,000+ unique NPC animations that react to what the player does.
"Project Americas" officially confirmed. Long-rumored as the game's origin — a sprawling, multi-protagonist plan spanning North and South America — "Project Americas" is now confirmed by Rockstar in this feature, which also explains why the over-ambitious scope forced several delays.
Context: GTA 6's official platforms remain PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, launching November 19; no PC version is announced (see GTA 6 PC release date: everything we know).
Related: Release date confirmed · GTA 6 PC release date: everything we know · Take-Two AGM on launch cadence
Source
- Bloomberg: The decade-long making of GTA 6
- Gfinity Esports: Rockstar opened an entire studio to work on GTA 6's NPCs
- KhanList: Rockstar issues rare official GTA 6 development update