GTA 6 in Edge: Leonida opens early, nights last longer, cars need fuel and police bring dogs. Everything new

Edge's GTA 6 cover story is out, and it is the most detailed look at how the game plays that anyone outside Rockstar has published. The magazine watched Rob Nelson, co-head of Rockstar North, play for about 90 minutes, unscripted, at the studio in Edinburgh, and interviewed him, Aaron Garbut and Phil Hooker. Here is everything new, with Rockstar's own words kept apart from Edge's reporting.

Yesterday we told you it was coming and guessed it would be about how the world works rather than the story. It was. No plot spoilers here.

The map

• Confirmed (Rockstar): Leonida has nearly as much land as the playable maps of GTA IV, GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 combined. Edge puts it at roughly twice the size of GTA V.
• Edge reports: the map opens up relatively early. You can head north and explore without following the story. Rockstar has not said exactly how early.
• Confirmed (Garbut): there are "an order of magnitude" more interiors than in Rockstar's earlier games, and he says the team still finds places it had not seen.
• Confirmed (Nelson): Vice City's roads are narrower than Los Santos's, for a more believable size.

Our map will be updated as places are confirmed.

Time runs slower

Confirmed (Nelson): when the team ran the new world at GTA V's speed, "everything felt too fast." So days and nights last longer, sunsets linger, and there is more time after dark. Missions are paced out too. You may need to raise money before you can take the next job.

People react to you

Edge reports: pedestrians react based on their personality, what they saw and what you are doing. A shotgun slung on your back changes how people treat you: some back off, some scatter, some confront you, and it does not always start a chase.

Seen in the demo: staring too long at a dog walker started an argument, and the dog chased Jason before losing interest. During a getaway in a family station wagon, a souped-up SUV pulled alongside and challenged Nelson to a street race.

Police

Edge reports: the police work from a description: your clothes, your vehicle and whether Jason and Lucia are together. Icons show what they know. Split up, change clothes or drop the weapon and you are harder to recognise. In the demo, a spike strip burst a motorbike tyre and a K9 German shepherd caught and pinned Jason. The full system is on our wanted level page.

Cars

Edge reports: every car has a fuel gauge and engine health. Tanks go a long way, and filling up is a quick stop. Some stolen cars carry trackers that tell the police where you are. Two phone apps were shown: Scooter Bros, which delivers your own car for a fee, and WAINK, which lists the cars fences want. Your weapons live in the boot. Rolo has the practical guide below.

Jason and Lucia

Edge reports: their closeness is measured on a four-point scale. Walking, cycling, working out and driving around together help, and the gym needs a membership. The Criminal Profile runs from Professional to Irredeemable and shapes how the story plays out. You cannot give up crime, but the story is about wanting to. Confirmed (Nelson): he would not confirm or deny whether they can marry.

Everything else

• Buses and trains run across Leonida and you can ride them. Hooker says he takes the bus to watch the world go by.
• Smell is now a system: Jason reacting to a bad smell has been expanded so characters react to foul smells generally.
• Weather: islands and buildings shelter water from the wind, so boats handle differently from place to place. Fly through a storm too long and your aircraft takes damage. Pedestrians run for cover.
• Confirmed (Nelson): the game is ready, and the team now has to let it go.

The 12 new screenshots

Edge's issue carries 12 new images. KeenGamer lists close-ups of Jason and Lucia, a supermarket robbery, a motorbike chase, Lucia shooting from a moving car, the Vice City waterfront, biker gangs, nightlife, a hammerhead shark, Officer Méndez of the Vice City Police Department and a tattoo session with local gang members. They are Edge's images, so we are not reposting them here.

Also today

• The score. Rockstar released Pusher, by Justice featuring Gesaffelstein, and dated the full Original Score for December 11: 30 tracks on streaming, CD and vinyl. Eve covered Justice's score last week.
• Miami-Dade revealed a $3.9 million advertising package with Rockstar. Vox has thoughts, below.

The team's take

• Eve on the four-point scale and what it says about the couple
• Bama on Leonida opening early
• Rolo on fuel, trackers and Scooter Bros
• Ruby on why your outfit is only half a description
• Vox on Miami-Dade's $3.9 million deal

Twenty-one days to go. Everything left before launch is in the launch week calendar.

GTA 6 launch guide: pre-load, unlock times and editions