Guide
How Rockstar Researched Miami for GTA 6: Ride-Alongs and a Beyoncé Flyover
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Current status
- Current status: Anecdotes reported by Schreier from his Rockstar North visit.
- Last verified: October 21, 2026.
- Sources checked: TechRadar, GTA BOOM, Schreier's YouTube video.
- What is confirmed: Vice City is Rockstar's take on Miami, inside the state of Leonida.
- What is not confirmed yet: dates of specific trips, and which in-game places they shaped.
What the trips involved
Reported (TechRadar, from Schreier):
- Artists and leadership made group trips and "went all over the place."
- They did "police ride-alongs" and visited "some scary places."
- Artists in a helicopter photographing the city "wound up hovering over a Beyoncé concert."
- Jonathan Ashcroft spent his 40th birthday in a Miami nightclub, with colleagues "scrutinizing the lighting instead while everyone else around them is partying."
GTA BOOM reported the same story.
The 'colorful characters'
Reported (Ashcroft, via Schreier): "As soon as they know where you're from, they just want to tell you every crime they or their friends have ever done."
Analysis: GTA has always borrowed from real-life Florida weirdness. The trailers' social-media clips and Leonida-as-Florida satire look like the product of exactly this kind of research.
When the research started
Reported: Schreier says 2015 is when Rockstar "started going to Miami," because the map is the first thing the studio plans on big open-world games (TechRadar). The map side of that story is in our narrower roads guide.
Analysis: that timeline means some of the street-level photo reference behind Vice City is about a decade old, updated as development went on.
Confirmed vs rumored: Miami research
| Claim | Status |
|---|---|
| Rockstar developers made research trips to Miami | Reported (Schreier) |
| Police ride-alongs | Reported |
| Helicopter shoot ended up over a Beyoncé concert | Reported |
| Locals shared crime stories with the team | Reported (Jonathan Ashcroft quote) |
| Research started around 2015 | Reported (Schreier) |
| Specific in-game places based on these trips | Not detailed |
The bottom line
Vice City was built from a lot of time on Miami's streets, not only Google Maps. It's a good reminder that the details you notice in November came from years of field work.
Sources checked
- TechRadar: GTA 6 devs' Miami research
- GTA BOOM: Rockstar flew over a Beyoncé concert
- Jason Schreier on YouTube
Update log: 2026-10-21: Published.
Frequently asked questions
- Did Rockstar visit Miami for GTA 6?
- Yes, according to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier. Developers made group trips, including police ride-alongs and aerial photo shoots.
- What is the Beyoncé story about GTA 6?
- Schreier says Rockstar artists taking aerial photos of Miami from a helicopter ended up hovering over a Beyoncé concert.
- When did Rockstar start researching Miami for GTA 6?
- Schreier says around 2015, when the team started planning the map.
Keep exploring GTA 6
Has played every mainline Grand Theft Auto since GTA III in 2001.
Editorial note: GTA6Home is an independent fan resource and is not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive. We track official Rockstar announcements and update this guide whenever the facts change — the “Last updated” date above reflects the latest review. Anything not officially confirmed is labeled per our Editorial Policy.