GTA 6 was meant to be bigger: Jason Schreier reveals details and rare photos

GTA fans have been eagerly awaiting Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier's exclusive report on GTA 6 for days. Schreier visited Rockstar North in Edinburgh, Scotland, and his article finally went live today at 12 p.m. CEST. Alongside new insights into the game's development, it features rare photos from inside the studio that are already making waves on Reddit. We'll take a look at those first before diving into the biggest revelations from Schreier's report.

Fans are thrilled to get such an unusual glimpse inside the studio behind GTA 6. "This is like seeing the inside of the pentagon," writes Reddit user u/WeaponizedAcoustic – a fitting comparison given how rarely Rockstar opens its doors to the public. The photos are also fueling speculation. One image shows books about surfing and Ibiza, which some fans are already interpreting as possible hints at content that could appear in GTA 6.

Project Americas: GTA 6 was originally planned on a much larger scale

Thanks to fan-made map reconstructions, we already have a rough idea of how big GTA 6's world might be. It appears to be larger than GTA 5's map, but considerably smaller than Rockstar originally had in mind. According to Schreier, the studio initially envisioned an enormous open world stretching across large parts of North and South America. The ambitious concept, known internally as "Project Americas," was eventually abandoned in favor of a more focused setting centered on Vice City and its surrounding regions. The report doesn't clearly explain why Rockstar dropped the original vision. Given the technical challenges the studio was already facing, however, it's possible that the sheer scale of the project simply proved too ambitious.

Development troubles, overtime and hopes for faster future releases

Schreier's report is essentially a behind-the-scenes account of GTA 6's development, shedding light on a production that has been anything but smooth – something the game's repeated delays have already made clear. According to Schreier, Rockstar went through a period of serious internal turmoil. One particularly contentious issue was how far the studio should push realism in GTA 6, with developers reportedly disagreeing over the game's creative direction.

Organizational difficulties and technical challenges added to the strain, especially when it came to building the game's complex systems and populating its world with NPCs. At times, Rockstar simply didn't have enough production capacity to handle the workload, leading the company to establish a new division in Los Angeles. The Covid-19 pandemic created further obstacles. Together, these challenges may help explain why Rockstar ultimately scaled back Project Americas, although Schreier's report doesn't establish a direct link.

Working conditions also feature prominently in the report. Rockstar has introduced measures to curb excessive overtime, but the industry's notorious crunch culture apparently hasn't been eliminated entirely. Employees are also still required to work from the office five days a week, with Rockstar citing security concerns. The company intends to review the policy after GTA 6 launches, although management reportedly sees a return to a traditional hybrid working model as unlikely.

There is some encouraging news for the future, however. The technology developed for GTA 6 could help Rockstar build its next games considerably faster. Developers are hopeful that their next project won't require another eight years of work. Whether that optimism translates into shorter development cycles remains to be seen.