I n 2015, a group of Grand Theft Auto developers from Rockstar North took their first trips to Miami to do field research for the next game in the phenomenally popular crime series. “Before you’re doing hyper-organised research trips, you’re immersing yourself in the place and its history, the vibe of it,” Rob Nelson, one of the lead developers on GTA VI, tells me. “[You see] the physical places you want to move characters through, the experiences you want them to have, and the juxtaposition between the extremes of society that are in Miami.”

I wondered: did people ever recognise them on any of their research trips? Did locals know what they were doing? This is the biggest game in the world, after all; I imagine it would be difficult to go entirely undercover. “We’re always semi-undercover,” he says. “But if you have a bunch of dorks going through a terrifying neighbourhood, you do stick out a bit.”

Grand Theft Auto VI is finally out next week, more than 10 years since those first exploratory trips.…