Jellyfish

What we know

Rockstar told Game Informer that jellyfish live in Leonida's sea with several shark species, whales, rays and turtles, and that these animals have "distinct movement behavior" rather than sharing one set of animations (IGN, VICE). You meet them while scuba diving, one of the side activities Rockstar named.

The other detail matters more for jellyfish than for any other animal. Game Informer says some of GTA 6's animals show iridescence, bioluminescence and translucency, and Polygon notes that some of the sea life glows. That is exactly what a real jellyfish looks like: see-through, shimmering, sometimes lit from within.

No trailer has given a jellyfish a clear close-up yet, though IGN describes the Extended Look's dive as "incredibly vibrant with life".

Florida's real stingers

The animal most Florida beachgoers think of first is not a jellyfish at all. The Portuguese man-of-war, which often washes up on Florida's coasts, is a siphonophore, a colony of specialised animals working as one, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History. Its tentacles are usually around 30 feet long and can still sting after the colony is dead. Rockstar has not said whether Leonida has men-of-war, or whether anything in its water stings.

Our take: jellyfish look like a showpiece for Rockstar's new rendering more than a hazard. Translucent, glowing creatures are hard to draw well, and Rockstar went out of its way to mention translucency and bioluminescence, so expect them to be one of the best-looking things on a dive. The practical question is whether touching one costs you health, and nobody outside Rockstar knows yet. Until launch, give them room on your first dive; it costs nothing. If they glow at night, a night dive could be one of GTA 6's best photo spots.

What to watch for at launch

• Whether jellyfish sting, and whether it drains health or oxygen.
• Whether they glow on night dives.
• Whether the Portuguese man-of-war is in the game as its own animal.