GTA 6 May Have Scrapped A Huge Leaked Feature

Fans who were hoping for some extra environmental realism in "Grand Theft Auto 6" may be in for a disappointment. According to noted insider account Rockstar Universe on X (formerly known as Twitter), the developers behind the new game have decided to scrap plans for a dynamic weather system, which would have introduced "extreme weather" into the gameplay loop. Said Rockstar Universe, "I've heard they wanted hurricanes and tornadoes," but these elements were cut for unknown reasons. "It could be tech limitations, it could be something else."

I've heard they wanted hurricanes and tornadoes, as to why they were cut I don't know. It could be tech limitations, it could be something else.

— Rockstar Universe (@RStarUniverse) November 17, 2023

The decision to delete inclement weather from "Grand Theft Auto 6" — if it has actually been cut — comes as quite a surprise, especially for fans who have been following the game's development. Despite Rockstar Games' attempts to keep all aspects of the next "GTA" under wraps, fans have been able to see a great deal of footage from an early build of the game. Rockstar was hacked in late 2022, resulting in roughly two hours of gameplay leaking online, where it was subsequently dissected by hungry gamers far and wide. Among these clips and screenshots, fans were able to see what appeared to be instances of extreme weather conditions impacting the landscape of Vice City. Considering the seedy locale is based on real-world Miami, it makes a good bit of sense that Rockstar might want to incorporate weather events such as hurricanes into the everyday lives of its characters.

It's worth noting that "Red Dead Redemption 2" also implemented a dynamic weather system that has been praised by players and critics alike, which brings the claim of "tech limitations" into question. However, the development cycle for "Red Dead Redemption 2" was also infamously impacted by difficult working conditions at Rockstar, with devs working tons of overtime to get the product ready to ship. It's entirely possible that Rockstar has made the decision to cut extreme weather from the game in order to alleviate the kind of crunch that plagued "RDR2" development.

Another possibility exists: Dynamic weather could be added to the game after its official release. Earlier this year, popular "GTA" leaker Tez2 claimed that Rockstar Games is so dead set on meeting its planned release date that the developer is cutting large chunks of content from "GTA 6." In a post to GTA Forums, Tez2 wrote, "I don't think the upper management is in a position to delay further to holiday 2025/2026. Cutting more portions of the game to package into DLCs to release later on may be sustainable for management [rather] than delaying further."

If this really is the case, it could be a win-win scenario in the long run. The "GTA 6" dev team may get a welcome reprieve from possible crunch time, while fans could eventually enjoy the new game's dynamic weather in a themed DLC down the line. Then again, fans know by now that Rockstar cut a ton of planned content for "GTA 5" that has never seen the light of day, and the same could end up being true for the next installment in the franchise.