Rockstar Games is about to pull back the curtain on Leonida once more. Game Informer has confirmed that Grand Theft Auto VI is the cover star of issue 382, with a 14-page feature built around exclusive interviews with Rockstar's lead designers. The digital edition goes live on September 29.

A long-running tradition continues

For more than two decades, Rockstar has used Game Informer as a launchpad for major reveals, and GTA 6 is no exception. Fans had speculated about a cover story for months, and this one arrives less than two months before the game's November 19 launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

The feature was written by Senior Associate Editor Marcus Stewart, a South Florida native. He spoke with several Rockstar designers about how the studio built Vice City and the wider state of Leonida.

The weather system takes center stage

The most intriguing item on the menu is GTA 6's weather. Rumors and patent speculation have circulated for years, but Rockstar has never officially detailed how the system works. Game Informer says the issue will cover technology designed to simulate Florida's less sunny weather phenomena, a hint that the game may go well beyond simple sun-or-rain cycles. Considering how volatile Florida's climate can be, from sudden downpours to tropical storms, the feature could reveal how much the weather will shape moment-to-moment gameplay.

Wildlife and Florida research

The cover story will also explore the animals roaming Leonida on land, in the air and at sea, expanding on the alligators, birds and marine life glimpsed in earlier trailers. Rockstar's research process is another focus: the magazine says the studio worked to make Vice City and Leonida feel culturally and aesthetically true to Miami and Florida.

12 new screenshots and fresh artwork

Beyond the interviews, the issue includes 12 never-before-seen screenshots showing off the game's sights and NPCs. The cover itself features new artwork of protagonists Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos, and it has already drawn plenty of attention from fans.

When you can read it

The digital edition of issue 382 arrives September 29. Print copies are shipping to subscribers, with newsstand and bookstore availability following in the coming weeks.

The preview lands after a heavy stretch of GTA 6 news, including the Netflix Extended Look trailer, a hands-off media event and a wave of gameplay leaks. Still, Game Informer's track record with Rockstar makes this one of the most anticipated pre-launch drops yet. With release day approaching, every new detail helps fill in the picture of what Leonida will look like when it goes live.

Rockstar Games has officially unveiled its GTA 6 collector's offering, Grand Theft Auto VI: The Goodtime State – Vice City Collection. Anyone expecting a traditional collector's edition should note the catch: the box doesn't include the game. There's no case, disc or download code inside. It's a merchandise bundle, and it stands in for the kind of collector's edition Rockstar has released alongside past titles.

The reveal follows a series of leaks pointing to a wave of GTA VI collectibles, and the listing has now appeared on Rockstar's own webstore. The approach echoes the Red Dead Redemption 2 collector's box: one large package stuffed with themed goodies, sold separately from the game itself.

Price, availability and limits

The Vice City Collection costs $399.99 in the US, £349.99 in the UK, €399.99 in Europe and CA$559.99 in Canada. Pre-orders are live now in North America and Europe. Rockstar says orders in Asia, Latin America and Australia will open at a later date.

Rockstar is capping purchases at one per customer through its store, and stock is listed as limited. The collection is set to ship on November 19, the same day GTA VI launches. The box measures 19 x 13.5 x 12.5 inches, so it's a sizable piece of shelf real estate.

What's in the box

Rockstar's listing includes eleven items, many built around Leonida's in-universe brands and characters:

• Macca the Gator figure: a twist-open base doubles as a stash spot, with the gator shown enjoying a smoke and a flamingo blood martini.

• Oakley Frogskins sunglasses: matte black frames with Prizm Sapphire lenses and a Vice City pink GTAVI logo.

• Leonida Keys crossbody bag: ripstop fabric, patterned black-and-pink lining, woven patches and a custom debossed YKK zipper pull.

• New Era 9FORTY snapback hat: an A-frame cap with Vice City Leonida embroidery, embellishments and appliques.

• Macca the Gator magnetic mirror: electroplated pink glass that works as a tray or hangs as wall art via two rear magnets.

• Chunkee the Manatee shot glass: Chunkee on the front, with a laser-etched Rockstar Games logo on the bottom.

• Vice City swizzle spoon: a decorative piece with a debossed enamel Vice City logo and a Rockstar Games logo tip.

• Vice City razor blade keychain: metallic, razor-styled, with embossed GTAVI and Vice City logos.

• Leonida Keys enamel pin set: nine pins in a custom metal tin.

• Leonida Keys sticker pack: nine crack-and-peel vinyl stickers in a stash bag.

• Double-sided souvenir poster: Macca the Gator characters from the Leonida TV show on the front, and a full map of the Goodtime State on the back.

More merch on the way

Rockstar says additional apparel and collectibles from the wider Grand Theft Auto VI Collection will arrive on its store soon, so the box looks like the centerpiece of a larger merchandise push rather than the whole lineup.

Marketing ramps up

The reveal lands as GTA VI promotion spreads into the real world. Posters have begun appearing on buildings, and Rockstar and Miami-Dade County have been putting up large-scale signage in downtown Miami. With launch less than two months away, the marketing rollout is clearly accelerating.

GTA Online's Business Rivalries event enters its final week, running September 24th to 30th. Rockstar is closing the month with the spotlight on Nightclub owners, plus a free property, a free car and fresh changes to the Kortz Center Heist.

The event is the first business-themed bonus month in a couple of years. Earlier weeks covered Executives, Bikers and Gunrunners, and this week the nightclub scene takes over.

Nightclub Week

Nightclub Goods Missions pay double GTA$ and RP through Yohan. Nightclub Management Missions earn double Popularity, which helps if you're trying to keep your club's meter full. New players can claim the Elysian Island Nightclub for free.

Other activities paying 2X GTA$ and RP this week include QuickiePharm Deliveries, selected Featured Series modes and the Community Combat Series.

Last Chance for the Free Penaud La Coureuse

Anyone who completed at least one of the previous three Weekly Challenges during the event can now claim the Penaud La Coureuse (Sports) for free from Legendary Motorsport. Eligible players on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC (Enhanced) also get a complimentary HSW upgrade from Hao's Special Works, so make sure you log in before the week ends.

This week's Weekly Challenge is to sell GTA$1,000,000 worth of goods across all your businesses. Completing it earns the Retro Fruit Tracksuit and a cash reward.

Delivering Business Battle crates also guarantees a clothing reward: the Six Figure Tee, Ride or Die Tee, Red and White Ammu-Nation Cap or Bourgeoix Tee.

Kortz Center Heist Gets a Shake-Up

The Kortz Center Heist has new Primary Targets this week, and its first-completion bonus resets, so you can claim it again. Finishing the heist without dying earns an extra GTA$400,000.

The Rest of the Week

• FIB Priority File: The Fine Art File, which pays double.

• Lucky Wheel: The podium vehicle is the Ocelot Penetrator, which costs $880,000 at Legendary Motorsport. GTA+ members get two spins every 24 hours.

• Prize Ride: Win the LS Car Meet Series four days in a row to unlock the Pegassi Zorrusso (Super), which costs $1,925,000.

• Premium Test Ride: The Imponte Arbiter GT, for PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC Enhanced players.

• Test Track: The Declasse Drift Yosemite, Vapid GB200 and Vysser Neo.

• Luxury Autos: Two cars are on show in Rockford Hills.

The weekly update resets on Thursday, when the bonuses, discounts, podium car and Prize Ride all rotate. That means the free Nightclub, the Penaud La Coureuse and the Kortz Center Heist changes are only around until the 30th.

With roughly two months left before Grand Theft Auto VI launches, Rockstar's real-world marketing push into Miami has officially begun — and it starts on a rooftop.

Travelers flying into Miami International Airport from over the ocean will now spot a large "Welcome to Vice City" sign, accompanied by GTA VI branding, perched atop the Kaseya Center, home of the NBA's Miami Heat. Local outlet WPLG Local 10 News captured aerial footage of the installation, which took place on Tuesday when a helicopter lowered the pink-and-white sign into place. Ground crews had assembled the sign beforehand and finished securing it once it was in position.

The timing lines up neatly with the Heat's upcoming schedule — their preseason opener falls on October 9, with the regular season kicking off October 21 or 22 — meaning the sign is set to get significant screen time as national broadcasts cut to the arena. According to the report, it's expected to stay up through at least the end of December.

Not every detail about the sign has impressed fans, however. The lettering is relatively small relative to the arena's size, spanning only about a third of its width, and the visible metal support brackets have drawn some criticism for detracting from the overall look. Whether it lights up at night remains to be seen — it doesn't appear to be illuminated yet, though that could change.

Interestingly, the Kaseya Center already has an in-game counterpart: Rockstar's Sahara Arena, which appears in GTA VI as a clear stand-in for the real building.

As for the cost, documents reviewed by the Miami Herald's Doug Hanks indicate Rockstar is paying Miami-Dade County close to $975,000 for the installation. That fee reportedly covers the various personnel required to put the sign up, including emergency services staff who were on hand during the ground operation.

This appears to be just the opening move in a broader marketing rollout across the city. Based on separate documents, a more substantial wave of GTA VI promotional material — including new billboards — is expected to arrive in Miami around mid-to-late October.

GTA Online Hit by Cheat Wave as New PS4 Jailbreak Opens the Door for Modders

GTA Online players on PS4 are dealing with a fresh outbreak of cheaters, and this time it traces back to hardware rather than the game itself. A newly released jailbreak for PS4 firmware 13.52 has given users on that version a way back onto PlayStation Network, and modders have wasted no time flooding lobbies with mod menus.

The fallout is familiar to anyone who's played GTA Online during a bad cheating spell: god mode, invisibility, instant rank-ups, and enormous cash drops appearing out of nowhere. For players still on PS4 who haven't made the jump to current-gen hardware, that puts them squarely in the blast radius.

The catch is that this isn't just annoying — it's risky for innocent players too. Rockstar's anti-cheat systems are tuned to flag suspicious spikes in money or RP, so a player who gets handed a pile of modded cash by a stranger in a lobby can end up banned right alongside the person who actually cheated.

Why this is happening now

The chain of events was flagged by well-known GTA dataminer Tez2, who traced the surge in modding activity back to the new jailbreak for firmware 13.52. That exploit lets PS4 units running the outdated firmware connect to PSN, effectively reopening a door Sony had closed off to jailbroken consoles.

For now, mod menus are running loose on PS4 servers as a result. But according to Tez2, the window is likely to be short-lived — Sony has a track record of cutting off PSN access for older firmware versions within a week or two of a new release going out.

What players should do in the meantime

Until that access gets shut off, PS4 players are being advised to stay cautious:

• Avoid joining public sessions where possible, or leave a lobby immediately if strange effects (unexplained cash boosts, rank jumps, invincible players) show up.

• Don't accept unsolicited money or RP transfers from strangers — even if it seems like a windfall, it can trigger an automated ban.

• Keep an eye on official Rockstar and community channels for updates on when Sony patches out the older firmware.

This isn't the first time PS4 jailbreaks have raised alarms about GTA Online's cheating problem, though earlier scares of this kind have sometimes fizzled out once Sony moved to lock down network access. Whether this one plays out the same way should become clear within the next couple of weeks.

YouTube has commissioned a new original series built around GTA RP server NoPixel, timed to land alongside the rollout of NoPixel V — the server's biggest and most ambitious version yet, now backed directly by Rockstar Games.

The show, called NoPixel News, comes from prominent NoPixel streamer Buddha, who announced the project in a tweet describing it as a weekly catch-up on the "biggest moments, storylines, and chaos" happening across the server. New episodes are set to drop every Monday at 10:00 a.m. PST, recapping the previous week's events, with a planned run of 18 episodes. Buddha was explicit that the series is "powered by YouTube," language that appeared prominently in the first episode itself.

That debut episode, released last week, sees Buddha co-hosting alongside fellow streamer Burn, with NoPixel regular Caylus brought in as a special guest reporter. The format leans into a mock-broadcast style, staged and filmed entirely within GTA, complete with the "powered by YouTube" branding front and center throughout. The episode also weaves in clips from some heavy-hitting names in and around the NoPixel scene — co-owner xQc, Sidemen member Zerkaa, and erobb, among others.

Not YouTube's First NoPixel Bet

This isn't the platform's first attempt at building a scripted or semi-scripted series out of NoPixel's world. Last year, YouTube backed a similar project pitched around Caylus, an original series called CayPlay that also leaned on the server's roleplay drama for content.

That earlier series had a bumpy reception: while a handful of episodes cracked a million views, the finale struggled to clear even 100,000 — a rough result for a channel with more than 20 million subscribers. It's unclear exactly how much YouTube spent producing CayPlay, but between Caylus, the production crew, and NoPixel staff involved, it was likely a meaningful investment. Given those numbers, YouTube circling back for a second Caylus-adjacent NoPixel show is a bit of a surprising move — though it suggests the platform still sees enough upside in the roleplay community to keep funding content built around it.

With NoPixel V now drawing official Rockstar support and a fresh wave of attention, NoPixel News looks like an attempt to capture some of that momentum on a recurring, low-overhead weekly format rather than a one-off scripted push — a safer bet than CayPlay's more ambitious swing.

Rockstar Games has published an updated modding policy just weeks before GTA 6 launches, and the fine print spells trouble for a number of community projects that have been in the works for years.

The publisher's relationship with modders has always been complicated. Rockstar and parent company Take-Two have pursued legal action against people reverse-engineering decades-old titles in the past, even while the company bought Cfx.re — the studio behind FiveM and RedM — and threw support behind the NoPixel roleplay server, which is now integrated directly into the Rockstar Games Launcher. That dual approach led some fans to assume Rockstar was easing up on mods. The new guidelines suggest otherwise: the language is broad enough to put even harmless, long-established mods on the wrong side of the rules.

The end of some community projects

Under a section titled "Respect Our Games," Rockstar restates that fans cannot expand or alter official storylines, missions, characters, or other established canon. The same restriction covers crossing content between titles — meaning mashups like Liberty City assets dropped into GTA V remain explicitly off-limits.

A newer addition targets platform ports: Rockstar now directly prohibits modifying its games to run on hardware or platforms the company hasn't officially supported.

That's a direct hit on a handful of high-profile passion projects. Over the past few years, modders have made real progress porting GTA V to unsupported hardware like the Nintendo Switch and Android devices — efforts RockstarINTEL has covered before, and genuinely impressive ones. GTA III fans have also been chasing a Sega Dreamcast port, reviving a version of the game that was originally in development for that console before Rockstar pivoted to PlayStation. Both are now operating on borrowed time.

FiveM and roleplay servers face new limits too

The guidelines also single out roleplay content built around real-world military simulation. Rockstar's policy now explicitly bars conflict roleplay or military simulations depicting real armed organizations — a rule aimed squarely at the kind of content some GTA RP servers on FiveM have leaned into.

On monetization, Rockstar reiterates that modding must stay non-commercial unless it goes through the official Creator Platform Marketplace, which the company launched to let approved mods sell through Tebex. That requirement isn't new — it's been baked into the FiveM agreement for a while — but Rockstar is now making it far more visible by spelling it out on its own site.

Taken together, the update reads less like a loosening of the rules and more like Rockstar tidying up and reinforcing lines it already had, right as GTA 6 approaches and scrutiny of what's allowed around its release is about to spike.

Rockstar Games' marketing push for GTA 6 has spilled into the real world in a big way — and it's come with a bill attached. According to a new report from The Miami Herald, Rockstar has agreed to pay Miami-Dade County close to $1 million for the right to slap a "Welcome to Vice City" sign atop the Kaseya Center, the county-owned arena where the NBA's Miami Heat play.

The sign is already going up, and it's tied directly to the game's fiction: in GTA 6 and GTA Online, the Kaseya Center is reimagined as the Sahara Arena, home court of the fictional Vice City Narcos. Sahara, for anyone who's spent time in Los Santos, is Rockstar's long-running in-game stand-in for Amazon.

But the money itself has turned into a local political football. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, a Democrat, wants Rockstar's payment funneled into the planned Parcel B park behind the arena. Republican Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez has a very different idea: he wants the cash redirected to the Sheriff's Office instead, arguing that GTA 6 promotes "violence against police and crime-heavy narratives."

Bermudez went further at a recent county meeting, telling attendees he's worried that players "may choose to commit crimes" after playing the game and that it could "impact the county's reputation." It's a familiar refrain — video games catching blame for real-world crime while the actual causes go unexamined — but it's notable that it's now playing out over an actual line item in a county budget.

Per Local10 News, Rockstar and Miami-Dade are reportedly in ongoing talks about installing more signage around the area, with additional details expected at the county's next commission meeting.

The Vice City sign isn't the only real-world marketing tied to GTA 6 popping up in major cities right now — Spotify recently put up its own billboards in Miami, Los Angeles, and New York to promote the game as well.

GTA 6 is set to release November 19 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

The multiplayer companion to Grand Theft Auto VI is shaping up to be a much later addition than some fans hoped, according to comments from Twitch CEO Dan Clancy following discussions with Rockstar Games.

Speaking to reporters at the Tokyo Game Show, Clancy indicated that whatever form GTA Online's successor takes, it won't be launching alongside the base game this November. Instead, he pointed to 2027 as the likely window for the online component, framing it as a second major wave of attention for the franchise after the singleplayer release settles in.

According to Bloomberg, Clancy said Twitch has spent considerable time in conversation with Rockstar about the studio's plans, including how the developer might work with content creators around the launch. He described anticipating a significant surge of interest tied to GTA VI's release, followed by an even larger spike when multiplayer arrives the following year.

Notably, Rockstar itself has yet to formally confirm a multiplayer or online mode for GTA VI. The studio's marketing and messaging to date have focused entirely on the singleplayer experience. Clancy's comments represent an outside characterization of Rockstar's roadmap rather than an official Rockstar announcement.

That framing lines up with recent remarks from Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick, who addressed the future of the existing GTA Online during the company's annual shareholder meeting. Zelnick confirmed that GTA VI remains a singleplayer title on track for a November release, and reiterated that Take-Two intends to keep supporting the current GTA Online well beyond that launch — suggesting the existing multiplayer game isn't going anywhere even once its successor arrives.

Clancy is arguably positioned to have some insight into Rockstar's thinking, given how closely the two companies have worked together recently. Rockstar has been running regular Twitch Drops promotions, and a second GTA Roleplay Week is currently underway on the platform. The relationship between Rockstar and Twitch has grown increasingly symbiotic, with both creators and viewers standing to benefit from tighter integration between the game and the streaming platform.

The Twitch CEO also weighed in on the scale of anticipation surrounding GTA VI, noting that in his seven years at the helm of the platform, he hasn't seen hype reach this level for any other title. He said he expects both the singleplayer launch and the eventual online mode to meaningfully boost overall viewership on Twitch, though he stopped short of offering a specific estimate.

For now, Clancy's comments remain the most concrete timeline suggestion for GTA VI's online future — but with Rockstar staying silent on the matter officially, it's worth treating a 2027 window as an educated read from a close industry partner rather than a confirmed release date.

GTA VI is currently scheduled to release this November on PS5 and Xbox.

Rockstar Games has officially confirmed Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album, the game's dedicated soundtrack release, alongside collector's edition vinyl pressings that will launch alongside the game itself.

The announcement follows a string of teaser billboards that appeared across Miami, Los Angeles, and New York City in partnership with Spotify, with several artists sharing matching artwork on their own social channels in the lead-up. Rockstar has also indicated that further details are on the way, describing upcoming coverage of "the dynamic score, the next evolution of in-game radio, and more."

What's on the album

The soundtrack will run 34 original tracks, which Rockstar says are built to reflect the "electric energy" of Vice City and Leonida. The album is being co-produced with Atlantic Records, and six tracks have been confirmed so far:

• Yung Lean – "That's It" (feat. Future & Metro Boomin)

• Travis Scott – "RHYNO" (prod. by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo)

• CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, PinkPantheress, Fred again.., & Etienne de Crécy – "Sexy Magic"

• Morgan Wallen – "Last Thing You Need"

• Rauw Alejandro – "Macacoa 2000"

• Keith Richards – "Bright Lights, Big City"

The lineup spans a notably wide genre range — from trap and hip-hop to country and rock — continuing the series' tradition of pulling together an eclectic, star-studded roster rather than sticking to one sound.

Physical formats and pricing

Rockstar is offering the album across three physical tiers:

• CD — full album audio with a booklet, in a jewel case, priced at £10.99

• Vinyl — two transparent magenta discs with blue splatter, priced at £44.99

• Limited-Edition Vinyl — two transparent magenta discs filled with blue liquid, featuring exclusive artwork and packaging, priced at £108.99 and produced in limited quantities

All three are set to release on November 19–20, matching the game's launch date, and can be pre-ordered through the official Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album store. Additional exclusive vinyl colorways with unique artwork will also be sold through retailers including Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, Urban Outfitters, Blood Records, and select independent stores.

This isn't unfamiliar territory for Rockstar — both GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 previously received vinyl soundtrack releases, and the studio appears to be leaning further into that format for GTA VI.

With the album, vinyl pressings, and radio revamp all pointing toward a bigger emphasis on music this cycle, it's shaping up to be one of the more ambitious soundtracks in the series' history — and one more piece of the promotional rollout as November's release date approaches.

Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has broken his silence on the Grand Theft Auto VI Extended Look, offering the clearest explanation yet of why Rockstar's Netflix special was built the way it was — and it turns out entertainment was only half the job.

Zelnick sat down with GamesBeat this week for a wide-ranging interview covering GTA VI's marketing strategy, and the Extended Look inevitably came up. It's been almost a month since the 27-minute special first aired exclusively on Netflix, and reaction has been split ever since: some feel the streaming exclusivity locked fans out, while others point to Twitch personalities restreaming the special as proof it reached an even bigger audience than Netflix alone could deliver. Zelnick himself sides with the latter camp, calling the arrangement "good for everyone involved," partly because of how effectively those restreams amplified the original broadcast.

But the more interesting reveal is why the special was structured the way it was in the first place. According to Zelnick, interactive entertainment carries a unique marketing problem that films and TV shows simply don't have: you can't appreciate a game until you're actually playing it, which means any trailer also has to teach people how to play before they'll ever consider buying it. In his words, part of the job is showing an audience "what's up" with the game, and in some cases that even means folding in something close to a tutorial before people are willing to spend money to try it.

That, Zelnick says, was exactly the function the Extended Look served — a tutorial wearing the costume of a trailer.

He didn't stop there, going on to praise how Rockstar pulled it off:

"What Rockstar did was incredible, but there was an element of tutorial baked in there, right? It just was a different kind of proposition. If you look at Rockstar's marketing previously for Grand Theft Auto titles, there are actual tutorials. This was just a different way of giving the same information, which I thought was really impressive. Rockstar figured out how to do that to entertain us for 27 minutes while also explaining to us how you're going to play the game and here's the gameplay."

In other words, rather than bolting an explainer onto a trailer the way past GTA marketing sometimes did, Rockstar folded the "how to play" information directly into a piece of entertainment good enough to hold attention for nearly half an hour on its own. Zelnick's framing suggests that was a deliberate evolution in how Rockstar communicates gameplay mechanics to a mainstream audience, rather than a happy accident.

Zelnick's comments arrive as GTA VI's marketing machine keeps rolling: new billboards recently went up in Miami and other cities to keep the game in front of the public ahead of its November 19 launch.

What do you make of Zelnick's explanation? Let us know in the comments.

Shawn Fonteno, the actor and voice behind Franklin Clinton in Grand Theft Auto V, says he won't be jumping into another stream with Kai Cenat — and he laid out exactly why during a recent sit-down on the Dope as Usual Podcast.

Fonteno has crossed paths with Kai multiple times over the years, including bringing his cousin Young Maylay — the voice of CJ in San Andreas — onto Kai's channel for some fan-favorite moments. On the surface, it's looked like a solid relationship between two of gaming's biggest names. According to Fonteno, though, one unresolved moment soured the whole thing.

He points to Kai's 2024 "Mafiathon 2" stream, which was filmed in Fonteno's own neighborhood. During that segment, Kai reportedly told a young fan — from a family Fonteno says was struggling financially, describing a household of around 15 people sharing a one-bedroom home — that he'd get him a motorbike after the kid asked for one on camera.

Fonteno says the bike never showed up. He claims he followed up repeatedly in the days after the stream, both directly and through people in Kai's circle, including fellow streamer Fanum, pushing for the promise to be honored. According to Fonteno, those attempts went nowhere, and he says being ignored on something that mattered to a kid left him unwilling to work with Kai again, regardless of how that decision might be received.

The story only picked up traction after clips from the podcast started circulating on social media. Once it did, Fonteno moved quickly to update fans on the situation, commenting on an Instagram repost of the podcast clip that he'd since spoken with Kai directly and that the matter had been resolved, thanking him by name for sorting it out.

That's obviously the outcome anyone following along would want — the kid getting what he was promised. But the timing is the sticking point for a lot of fans: it took a public callout from one of GTA's most recognizable actors, and a viral moment, before the promise was actually kept. In the hours since, reaction has leaned hard toward criticizing Kai for how it played out, while Fonteno is getting praise for pushing the issue rather than letting it drop.

Neither Kai Cenat nor his team have issued a wider statement on the situation beyond what's referenced in Fonteno's comment.

Rockstar's marketing push for Grand Theft Auto VI has moved off screens and onto city streets. New billboards featuring GTA 6 artwork have gone up across the United States, marking one of the first times a third party has helped promote the game in physical space — following YouTube's earlier takeover of a Times Square screen to promote the game's second trailer.

The billboards follow closely on the heels of several musicians sharing new pieces of GTA VI artwork across their social channels. Within a day, extended versions of that same art appeared on large-format billboards in Los Angeles, Miami, and New York City — this time branded with Spotify's logo. Spotify shared photos of the billboards on social media with a simple "👀" caption, offering no further comment.

The collaboration isn't coming out of nowhere. Spotify has already built an official playlist featuring music from GTA 6's Extended Look trailer, and the streaming platform previously reported a massive spike in plays for songs featured in that reveal. Given the timing, it's fair to wonder whether Spotify might eventually use a playlist to unveil the game's full in-universe soundtrack.

So far, the artists confirmed to be part of this art and music push include Travis Scott, Morgan Wallen, Freebandz, CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, Raúl Alejandro, and Keith Richards.

The billboard rollout adds to a steady stream of GTA VI news this week. Separately, actor Stephen Root has confirmed his involvement in the game after years of fan speculation.

Grand Theft Auto VI is available for pre-order now on PS5 and Xbox.

Rockstar Games has kicked off a fresh GTA Online Weekly Update, and it's a loaded one. The Business Rivalries event — the publisher's first extended monthly rewards push in a couple of years — rolls on, a new supercar has dropped out of its GTA+ exclusivity window, and players have a fresh batch of vehicles, discounts, and bonus GTA$ to chase between September 17th and 23rd.

Here's everything worth knowing about this week's update.

New Vehicle: Pegassi Horus Goes Public

The Pegassi Horus, previously locked behind a one-week GTA+ exclusivity period, is now available to every GTA Online player. It'll run you $2,810,000 at Legendary Motorsport if you want to add the supercar to your garage.

Login Rewards

Simply logging in this week nets you the Dolla Dolla livery, which can be applied across four vehicles: the Mammoth Avenger, Ocelot Ardent, and both the Pegassi Oppressor and Oppressor Mk II.

Business Rivalries: The Bigger Picture

The Business Rivalries month is the centerpiece of this update cycle, and the rewards on offer are substantial:

• Free car for showing up. Complete just one Weekly Challenge at any point over the next three weeks and Rockstar will hand you the Penaud La Coureuse sports car at no cost.

• Free HSW upgrade. Log in and play between September 24th and 30th for a complimentary HSW upgrade.

• Guaranteed clothing drops. Turning in Business Battle crates guarantees clothing rewards, cycling through the Six Figure Tee, Ride or Die Tee, a Red and White Ammu-Nation Cap, and the Bourgeoix Tee.

Kortz Center Heist Refreshed

The Kortz Center Heist gets new Primary Targets this week — Mi O Melee, To Beat About the Bush, and Hare Oneself Think — and its first-completion bonus has been reset, meaning even veteran players can cash in again. Pull it off without dying and you'll pocket an extra GTA$400,000 on top.

FIB Priority File: The Brute Force File

This week's Priority File is The Brute Force File, and as always, Priority Files pay out double rewards.

Salvage Yard Robbery Targets

• The Duggan Robbery → Karin Previon

• The Podium Robbery → Dinka Sugoi

• The McTony Robbery → Declasse Mamba

Casino Podium Vehicle

This week's daily spin at the Diamond Casino puts the Vapid Dominator ASP ($1,775,000 from Southern San Andreas Super Autos) up for grabs. GTA+ subscribers get two spins every 24 hours instead of one.

Prize Ride Challenge

Win an LS Car Meet Race four days running and you'll unlock the Dinka LSCM Jester RR as your Prize Ride — a vehicle that normally costs $1,500,000 from Legendary Motorsport.

Test Rides and Test Track

• Premium Test Ride: Bravado Banshee GTS (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC Enhanced)

• Test Track Vehicles: Lampadati Viseris, Schyster Deviant, and Grotti Bestia GTS

Dealership Rotations

Luxury Autos (Rockford Hills): Pegassi Horus, Progen Luiva

Premium Deluxe Motorsport (Simeon's): Ocelot XA-21, Bravado Half-track, Imponte Nightshade, HVY Nightshark, Pegassi Torero

Gun Van Stock

• Weapons: Compact EMP Launcher, Heavy Sniper, Pump Shotgun, Pipe Wrench (10% off, 20% for GTA+), Tactical SMG (10%/30% for GTA+), and the Stun Gun (40%/40% for GTA+)

• Throwables: Tear Gas, Molotovs, Sticky Bombs — all 10% off, 20% for GTA+

• Body Armor: Every armor tier, from Super Light to Super Heavy, discounted 10% (20% for GTA+)

Races and Time Trials

• Premium Race: Congestion Charge

• HSW Time Trial: Sandy Shores

• Time Trial: Cypress Flats

Discounts This Week

Free: Grapeseed Bunker

70% off: Pfister Astron Custom

30% off: Ocelot XA-21, Bravado Half-track, Imponte Nightshade, HVY Nightshark, Pegassi Torero, Übermacht Niobe, Vom Feuer Anti-Aircraft Trailer, Western Company Rogue, Karin Everon, Buckingham Shamal, Shitzu Hakuchou Drag, Lampadati Viseris, Principe Lectro, Grotti Bestia GTS, Albany Hermes, Schyster Deviant

GTA$ and RP Bonuses

• 3x on Community Mission Series

• 2x on Bunker Research Progress (via Agent 14)

• 2x on Ammu-Nation Contracts

• 2x on Safeguard Deliveries

• 2x on Featured Series

Weekly Challenge

This week's challenge asks players to complete three Bunker Research Missions. The payout: GTA$1,000,000 and the Camo Ammu-Nation Sweatsuit.

GTA+ Perks

GTA+ members get the usual added value this month — the double casino spins and early Horus access noted above, plus the full slate of monthly benefits.

With Business Rivalries running through the rest of the month, this is shaping up to be one of the more reward-heavy stretches GTA Online has seen in a while — a free car, a free HSW upgrade, and guaranteed cosmetics just for staying active.

Sony isn't just giving Grand Theft Auto VI a spot on the show floor at Tokyo Game Show 2026 — it's giving the game its own theater, and handing out free merchandise to anyone who shows up.

Running September 17 through 21, PlayStation's TGS 2026 booth includes a dedicated "Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look" theater. Visitors sit down to watch the 30-minute Extended Look trailer on a 300-inch screen, with Sony's floor haptics rumbling underneath to add a bit of physical weight to the presentation. It's worth noting the footage itself isn't new — it's the same Extended Look that premiered in late August — but the presentation is built to make familiar footage feel like an event.

Anyone who sits through the full thing walks away with a free co-branded GTA 6 and PlayStation T-shirt, no purchase necessary.

On top of that, PlayStation is running a social media promotion tied to the show. Attendees who post their expectations or impressions of games from the PlayStation booth using the hashtag "#PS5" will receive a three-piece sticker set, all GTA VI themed and featuring the game's logo. Between the shirts and the stickers, don't be surprised if some of this merch turns up for resale shortly after — collectors have shown a consistent appetite for anything with the GTA VI branding on it.

The theater doesn't stand alone, either. It sits alongside playable demos of Sony's own upcoming lineup, including Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance, Final Fantasy VII Revelation, Marvel's Wolverine, and Ace Combat 8 — putting GTA 6 front and center among PlayStation's biggest first- and third-party pushes for the show. Notably, there's no separate Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive presence at TGS this year; this is entirely PlayStation's setup, using GTA 6 as one of its headline draws.

That's very much in keeping with how Sony has handled GTA 6 marketing all year. The partnership has already included custom GTA-branded billboards across Tokyo, two custom DualSense controllers built around the game, and GTA 6's inclusion in PlayStation's "It Happens on PS5" campaign — an unusually deep alignment between a console maker and a multiplatform third-party title. A dedicated theater at Sony's biggest home-market event is the same strategy, just scaled up.

If you're heading to Tokyo Game Show 2026, it sounds like the PlayStation booth is worth the line. Let us know in the comments if you manage to grab the shirt, the stickers, or both.

Rockstar Games has pushed a new patch for GTA V and GTA Online, and this one didn't come with any fanfare — it quietly strips a well-liked track off one of the game's radio stations.

The change was first flagged by dataminer Tex2, who spotted that Tuesday morning's patch removes Moloko's "The Time Is Now" from Non Stop Pop FM. The song has been a station staple for years, and its disappearance didn't go unnoticed — fans took to social media almost immediately to voice their frustration.

So far, the removal only affects the Enhanced version of GTA V on PC. Both GTA V Legacy on PC and the console versions remain untouched for now, though if this comes down to a licensing issue, it wouldn't be surprising to see the track pulled from those platforms eventually too. Rockstar has been here before — GTA IV lost songs from its soundtrack over the years for similar reasons — so losing a track from a game now well into its second decade isn't exactly shocking.

Music licenses for games typically run five to ten years, and GTA V is now 13 years old, well past the usual window. Rockstar could theoretically renew the license, but with GTA VI on the horizon, that seems like an unlikely investment. That said, the fact that only the PC Enhanced version has been affected leaves the door open — it's possible this is more of an administrative hiccup than a permanent cut, and the song could return once things are sorted out.

Rockstar did publish patch notes for the update, but they made no mention of the song's removal, leaving fans to piece together what happened from datamining and community reports alone.

Grand Theft Auto VI's marketing push took an unexpected turn this week, and for once it wasn't Rockstar driving the conversation — it was the artists themselves.

On Tuesday afternoon, a wave of musicians simultaneously shared brand-new artwork tied to GTA 6, catching fans off guard with a coordinated drop rather than a single Rockstar-led reveal. Six pieces of art surfaced in total, credited to Travis Scott, Morgan Wallen, Freebandz (Future's record label), CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, Raúl Alejandro, and Keith Richards.

The shared timing and the sheer range of genres involved — hip-hop, country, Latin, and rock — strongly suggests all of these acts will have music featured in the game itself, something Rockstar has yet to confirm outright.

Travis Scott's post stood out for more than just the art. Alongside the image, he teased what he called "Phase 1" of something bigger, hinting at his own return "to game" and dropping a cryptic string of letters before signing off with a nod to Rockstar Games and a promise to follow up soon.

That kind of vague, staggered messaging has fans speculating that Rockstar is laying groundwork for a larger music-focused reveal — possibly a full in-game soundtrack or radio station lineup — in the very near future. Some are pointing to Wednesday as a possible date for more details, though nothing has been confirmed.

This isn't the first time outside talent has been pulled into the marketing rollout. The news comes just after actor Stephen Root confirmed his own role in GTA 6, adding to a growing list of high-profile names attaching themselves to the game ahead of its release.

With GTA VI's marketing machine now clearly extending beyond Rockstar's own channels, this latest art drop feels less like a one-off and more like the opening beat of a bigger music-focused announcement.

A fresh data report has put hard numbers behind something GTA fans already suspected: getting featured in the Grand Theft Auto VI Extended Look trailer was rocket fuel for the artists involved.

Music industry analyst Mat Ombler of MusicEXP dug into streaming and social platforms to quantify the fallout from the trailer, covering the week of August 27 to September 3. The results paint a picture of a marketing moment with real, measurable commercial weight — not just hype among the game's own fanbase, but a crossover effect that reached deep into artists' actual listener numbers.

Spotify Numbers Went Vertical

The headline figure: artists featured in the Extended Look saw their monthly Spotify listener counts jump by an average of 670% week-on-week. Some individual spikes were staggering — Birdman's audience grew 4,791%, Kodak Black's by 1,880%, and Chk Chk Chk (!!!) saw a 1,429% surge.

In terms of raw new listeners gained, three acts pulled ahead of the pack:

1. Bob Moses — 450,243 new monthly listeners (+19.5%)

2. Cliff Richard — 230,501 new monthly listeners (+12.5%)

3. The Bellamy Brothers — 225,257 new monthly listeners (+9.6%)

The individual tracks featured in the trailer weren't left out either. Across the more than dozen songs used in the Extended Look, streams rose by an average of 7%. The standout gainers:

1. "But I Think It's a Dream" — Captain & Tennille: 80,744 new streams (+71%)

2. "Se Me Nota (Agárrame)" — Chimbala & Omega: 2.47 million new streams (+12.7%)

3. "Inner Light" — Elderbrook & Bob Moses: 4.1 million new streams (+3.3%)

The Trailer Also Drove a Social Media Spike

The bump wasn't confined to streaming platforms. Featured artists saw their Instagram followings grow by an average of 976% week-on-week, with Phil Collins and Elderbrook each picking up more than 5,000 new followers on the platform. TikTok growth was even sharper, averaging 1,650% week-on-week — Chimbala alone gained over 18,000 new followers there.

Shazam activity also spiked hard, as viewers scrambled to identify what was playing during the roughly 26-minute video:

1. "Inner Light" — Elderbrook & Bob Moses: 377,402 new Shazams (+57.5%)

2. "Se Me Nota (Agárrame)" — Chimbala & Omega: 245,424 new Shazams (+51.8%)

3. "But I Think It's a Dream" — Captain & Tennille: 3,429 new Shazams (+33.1%)

Part of a Bigger Pattern

This isn't the first data point suggesting the Extended Look had an outsized real-world impact. Earlier reporting already showed Spotify and other platforms registering a jump in plays tied directly to the trailer's release, and the reveal has separately been linked to a surge in console sales and pre-orders as anticipation for the game builds.

Taken together, the numbers suggest Rockstar's marketing push for GTA VI is doing more than exciting its own audience — it's actively reshaping listening habits and boosting the profiles of artists who, in several cases, had been largely dormant on the charts for years.

Grand Theft Auto VI now has its first confirmed cast member, and the news didn't come from Rockstar Games — it came from the actor himself.

Speaking with the Associated Press at the BAFTA TV Tea Party, Stephen Root was asked directly about the long-running fan theory tying him to GTA VI. He didn't dodge it. "Yeah, you're gonna see me in there," Root said, adding, "It's coming out November 19th."

The moment closes the book on one of the game's worst-kept secrets. Speculation that Root voices Brian Heder began almost immediately after GTA VI's second trailer dropped in May 2025, when fans recognized his distinctive delivery in the footage showing Brian interacting with protagonist Jason. Root has voiced both Bill Dauterive and Buck Strickland across King of the Hill's run, and longtime fans of the show picked up on the resemblance right away.

Root himself acknowledged as much. Asked about the speculation, he explained that the connection was made almost as soon as marketing for the game began rolling out. "I think from the first roll out of GTA that they were doing maybe almost a year ago, they had my character in there. And there were too many people who knew me from King of the Hill and my voice," he said. "So I think that secret kind of got divulged then."

It's a rare break from how Rockstar typically handles its casting. The studio has kept its GTA VI voice cast almost entirely under wraps — even the actors playing lead protagonists Jason and Lucia remain officially unconfirmed — leaving fans to piece together the roster through trailer footage and gameplay leaks instead of announcements. Root openly confirming his involvement, unprompted by Rockstar, stands out against that backdrop.

While Root stopped short of naming his character outright in the AP interview, all signs point to Brian Heder, an aging drug runner in the Leonida Keys who sits close to Jason's life at the start of the game. Character material tied to Brian describes him as a fixture of "the golden age of smuggling in the Keys," still moving product through his boatyard while letting others handle the riskier work these days — the kind of grizzled, semi-retired criminal role that fits Root's résumé well.

Root also touched on what it was like working on the game itself, calling it "a whole different ball game" from his other projects. "I'm so happy to be involved with it," he said. "It's an amazing thing to look at."

The confirmation comes at a high point for Root professionally — he's currently up for an Emmy for his supporting role as Wyck Crawford in Apple TV's Widow's Bay. He's also known for roles in Barry, Office Space, and Get Out.

Rockstar has not commented on Root's remarks or released any official cast list. Grand Theft Auto VI is set to launch November 19 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Real-world GTA 6 marketing has cleared a major hurdle in South Florida. The Miami Beach City Commission has voted 4-3 to let Rockstar Games place large-scale advertisements around the city ahead of the game's November 19 launch, reversing the tone set earlier by Miami-Dade officials who had objected to promoting a game they said "glorifies" violence against police.

The scale of what's being approved is notable. Signage could run larger than 5,000 square feet, with a price tag of roughly $208,000 per placement — a level of signage privilege Miami Beach has historically reserved for events like the Formula 1 Grand Prix and next year's FIFA World Cup. Rather than splashing "Grand Theft Auto VI" branding across landmarks, the ads are expected to lean on more understated "VI" and "Vice City" typography worked into things like beach umbrellas, and won't be permitted on certain buildings.

Geographically, the approved advertising zone is tightly bound: Downtown Miami between Northeast 5th Street to the north, the Miami River to the south, Biscayne Bay to the east, and Northeast 2nd Avenue to the west. Assuming the final agreement holds, signage could start going up October 15th and must come down by December 31st — a window that neatly bookends the game's release.

Financially, one official at the commission meeting suggested Rockstar's total spend could land somewhere near $4 million, though the specifics are still being hammered out between the city and the publisher. Not everyone on the commission was on board — one member pushed back, arguing the game shouldn't be marketed in the city at all given its subject matter around violence toward police.

The city's own reasoning for approving the deal centered on Vice City's cultural ties to Miami and the marketing windfall a global launch like this could bring — framing it as a chance to spotlight the city as a hub for entertainment, tourism, and media during the promotional run-up to release.

Notably, this Miami Beach vote isn't the final word — Downtown Miami is expected to hold its own vote on similar signage soon, meaning the full picture of how visible GTA 6 becomes on Florida streets this fall is still taking shape.

New viewership data is putting a dollar figure on just how much Netflix may have gained from its brief but headline-grabbing GTA VI exclusivity deal — and while the number is nowhere near the reported cost of securing the footage, it tells an interesting story about what the partnership actually delivered.

According to analytics firm Ampere Analysis, cited via GamesIndustry.biz, Netflix picked up more than 100,000 new sign-ups in the United States during the six-hour window it held exclusive rights to "Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look" on August 27. If every one of those new subscribers landed on Netflix's cheapest tier, that works out to roughly $1 million in new subscription revenue — a figure based on pre-price-hike rates.

That's a modest return compared to the reported cost of the deal itself. Industry insider Tom Henderson previously estimated Netflix could have paid close to $100 million to secure temporary exclusivity on the footage, a figure roughly comparable to the value of a million game sales at GTA VI's expected $80 price point. Whether Netflix actually paid Rockstar anything for the arrangement is still unconfirmed — reporting suggests Rockstar was the one who approached Netflix about hosting the reveal, not the other way around, which muddies any straightforward cost-versus-return comparison.

Sign-up numbers aside, the surge still ranks as one of the biggest of Netflix's year. Ampere Analysis data places it as the third-largest spike in new subscribers in 2026, trailing only the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano MMA fight and the final season of "Stranger Things." Ampere's figures also indicate that roughly 5% of the viewers who tuned in hadn't used Netflix in the previous 30 days, suggesting the Extended Look pulled at least some lapsed subscribers back to the platform before they moved on to other content.

The subscriber bump is a smaller part of a much bigger viewership story. The Extended Look pulled in 31.1 million views on Netflix within its first four days, and topped the platform's charts in 87 of its 93 tracked countries. Once the six-hour exclusivity window ended and the video hit YouTube, it added another 17 million views there. Altogether, Rockstar's five marketing videos for GTA VI have now racked up roughly 537 million views across Netflix and YouTube combined.

Whatever Netflix paid — or didn't pay — for the privilege, the deal has clearly done what it set out to do: make Netflix look like a viable stage for major gaming reveals, while keeping the GTA VI hype machine running full speed ahead of its November 19 launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

A new GTA+ cycle has kicked off for September, and Rockstar Games is once again sweetening the pot for subscribers with a free supercar, exclusive customization options, and the usual stack of recurring perks. The new Month 54 benefits run from September 10 through October 7.

Free Vehicle: Pegassi Horus

The headline reward this cycle is the Pegassi Horus, which GTA+ members can claim at no cost despite its $2,810,000 price tag at Legendary Motorsport. The catch is timing: the Horus is only free for members during a one-week exclusivity window before it becomes available to the wider GTA Online player base.

To claim it, subscribers need to visit the Vinewood Car Club, where the vehicle will be flagged as FREE for GTA+ members only. Members who pick it up can also apply the Velvet Iris livery, giving the car a distinct look before it hits general release.

Exclusive Chameleon Paint Jobs

Alongside the free car, Rockstar is handing GTA+ members a pair of new Chameleon paint options this month: the Cyan/Red Flip Chameleon Paint and a matching Chameleon Wheel Paint. Both are being offered at no cost, but only through eligible vehicle customization.

Members can claim these by heading to any Auto Shop or Vehicle Workshop with a compatible vehicle and selecting the Chameleon Color Group options, which will show as FREE for subscribers.

Standing GTA+ Perks

Beyond September's rotating rewards, GTA+ continues to bundle in the fixed benefits subscribers have come to expect for the $7.99 (£6.99 / €7.99) monthly fee. Membership includes full access to GTA Online plus a broader library of classic Rockstar titles, including Red Dead Redemption (and its recent re-release), L.A. Noire, Bully, and mobile ports of Liberty City Stories, Chinatown Wars, and Bully. The Definitive Editions of GTA III and GTA Vice City are also included.

Subscribers additionally get two Lucky Wheel spins every 24 hours at the Diamond Casino, up from one, a change Rockstar introduced back in June 2025.

The Bigger Picture

GTA+ has steadily grown from a niche subscription tied mostly to in-game cash bonuses into a broader entertainment bundle, folding in Rockstar's classic-game catalog alongside GTA Online-specific perks. With GTA 6 on the horizon, subscriber benefits like this month's Horus giveaway are likely part of Rockstar's push to keep engagement high in GTA Online during the runway to launch.

Rockstar Games' month-long Business Rivalries Event has rolled into its second stretch, and this week's GTA Online update (running September 10-16) puts motorcycle clubs front and center while adding a fresh supercar to the game's ever-growing roster.

A New Ride for GTA+ Members

The headline addition this week is the Pegassi Horus, now available exclusively to GTA+ subscribers. Non-members will have to wait out a one-week exclusivity window before they can pick it up from Legendary Motorsport starting September 17, at a steep $2,810,000.

Bikers Take Center Stage

With Business Rivalries cycling through GTA Online's criminal industries week by week, it's motorcycle clubs' turn to shine. Players can claim a free Grapeseed Clubhouse through Maze Bank Foreclosures and cash in on 2X GTA$ and RP across Clubhouse Contracts, MC Work, and MC Challenges. Street Dealer Sales and Bike Service Jobs are also paying double, with GTA+ members pulling in 6X on the latter.

Rockstar is sweetening the pot further with a rare business-focused reward stretch — the first of its kind in a couple of years. Selling $1,000,000 worth of product nets players another cool $1,000,000 plus the Junk Tracksuit, and simply completing at least one Weekly Challenge over the coming weeks earns a free Penaud La Coureuse sports car. Anyone who logs in between September 24-30 also gets a complimentary HSW upgrade at no cost.

Delivering Business Battle crates rounds out the bonus haul, guaranteeing one of four clothing drops: the Six Figure Tee, Ride or Die Tee, Red and White Ammu-Nation Cap, or Bourgeoix Tee.

This Week's Casino and Race Rewards

Over at the Diamond Casino, the Lucky Wheel's podium vehicle is the RUNE Zhaba, valued at $2,400,000 through Warstock Cache & Carry — and GTA+ members now get two spins every 24 hours instead of one.

Racers have a shot at the Pfister Neon this week too. Finishing in the top four of an LS Car Meet Race unlocks it as a Prize Ride, available afterward for $1,500,000 from Legendary Motorsport.

Rotating Showroom and Test Vehicles

Rounding out the week's content rotation, the Coil Cyclone II is this week's Premium Test Ride vehicle for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC Enhanced players. Over at the Test Track, players can try out the Grotti Cheetah Classic, Pfister Growler, and Vulcar Warrener HKR. Meanwhile, the Luxury Autos dealership in Rockford Hills has the Grotti GT750 and Vapid FMJ MK V on display for purchase.

With three more weeks of Business Rivalries still to run, expect the spotlight — and the bonuses — to keep rotating through GTA Online's other criminal enterprises before the event wraps up.

Red Dead Redemption 2's honor system let players shape Arthur Morgan into a saint or a psychopath, with the game's NPCs responding accordingly. Fans have wondered for months whether Grand Theft Auto 6 would import a similar mechanic into Leonida — and according to new reporting, the answer is yes, with a catch.

Rockstar has apparently built a comparable reputation mechanic into GTA 6, referred to internally as the "Criminal Profile." Details have surfaced gradually through preview coverage from outlets that attended recent hands-off sessions with the game, including footage from TGG and reporting from IGN, and a clearer picture is starting to form of how the system actually functions.

How the Criminal Profile Works

At its core, the system tracks how ruthless or restrained a player chooses to be. Racking up needless kills or excessive violence drags the Criminal Profile down, and that shift doesn't go unnoticed — NPCs are expected to react differently to a player who's built a reputation as trigger-happy, potentially recognizing them from GTA 6's in-game social media as a known troublemaker and steering clear.

That reputation swing runs both ways. Playing more like a disciplined professional — pulling off clean heists without unnecessary bloodshed — pushes the profile upward instead, and story characters may respond with more respect rather than fear or contempt.

There's also a floor to how far things can fall. Rockstar North's Rob Nelson has apparently confirmed that sinking your Criminal Profile low enough triggers a "point of no return," after which the reputation is locked at rock bottom for good, with no path back to redemption.

Players Can Opt Out Entirely

Despite the depth of the system, Rockstar isn't forcing players to engage with it. Nelson reportedly confirmed that the Criminal Profile can simply be ignored altogether — players who want to cause chaos without worrying about long-term reputation consequences are free to do so, and the game won't break as a result.

That optional framing echoes how GTA 6's romance system has been described elsewhere: present for players who want it, but never mandatory. It fits a broader pattern in GTA 6's design philosophy, where several deeper systems appear to be opt-in rather than forced, leaving it up to the player whether they want the added realism or just want to cause chaos without consequence.

With Rockstar continuing to drip-feed gameplay details ahead of GTA 6's November 19 release, the Criminal Profile joins a growing list of systems — alongside the honor-adjacent romance and body-mechanics features — that suggest Leonida will react to players in far more nuanced ways than past entries in the series.

Downtown Miami is moving toward letting Rockstar Games take over its skyline with Grand Theft Auto VI advertising, and the timeline is tight: banners could start going up as early as next month.

According to a report from The Miamian, Miami District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo is sponsoring an ordinance heading to the city commission agenda on September 10th that would authorize temporary banners, building wraps, and promotional displays advertising GTA VI across the city. The kind of signage waivers being proposed are typically reserved for major sporting events, like this summer's World Cup, which makes the carve-out for a video game launch notable in itself.

The deal, in numbers

Per a spokesperson for Pardo's office, the proposal caps things at a maximum of six banners in downtown Miami, running for a total of 56 days. A draft of the legislation states the display window would run from October 15th through December 31st, putting the campaign squarely around GTA VI's November 19th launch.

None of it is free. Rockstar Games would pay $202,000 per banner, which works out to roughly $1.2 million if the city maxes out at six. That money isn't just going into a general fund, either; it's earmarked for the development of the Upperdeck Edward T. Graham Heritage Trail, a park project going in under the new I-395 bridge. Take-Two Interactive would also need to sign off on every piece of the marketing, and the downtown homeowner associations would need to agree to the deal before any of it can go up.

A tale of two Miamis

Pardo isn't operating in isolation here. He's following the lead of Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who has been pushing for a much bigger, county-wide takeover promoting the game and local tourism. That county-level pitch is the more audacious of the two: reported ideas have included a "Vice City Airport" rebrand of Miami International, GTA-branded Metromover trains, murals at PortMiami, and even Vice City logos stamped on manhole covers.

That version, though, has run into real resistance. Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz has objected on the grounds that GTA's fictional world runs on the exact crimes her department polices every day, and at least one commissioner has called the campaign questionable. A chief judge has also reportedly pushed to keep courthouses out of it entirely.

The city's ordinance is a scaled-down, more palatable version of the same idea: temporary, privately funded, and confined to downtown billboards rather than public transit and government buildings, with the proceeds tied to a park rather than county coffers.

Why it matters

Whichever version survives, it points to just how much local governments in South Florida see GTA VI's launch as a real-world economic event, not just a gaming one. Vice City has always been Rockstar's exaggerated, slightly cruel caricature of Miami; there's an irony in the actual city now angling to dress itself up as that caricature for a cut of Rockstar's marketing budget. Whether that irony survives a homeowners' association vote is the next thing to watch, starting with Thursday's commission meeting.