Since that 27-minute presentation aired on Netflix at the end of August, GTA 6 has never felt so real. Or so alive! Rockstar Games used the slot to reveal plenty of gameplay, but also to let several outlets and content creators dig into the game in greater depth. Eleven previews were published in total, serving up a staggering amount of information about the next Grand Theft Auto. So while we wait to dive into Vice City and the various regions of Leonida ourselves, here's what to take away from those first impressions.
Lucia, love and rock'n'roll
Where GTA 5 let us switch between three alpha males, GTA 6 puts us in control of a couple — a man and a woman: Jason and Lucia. One of the game's headline new features is of course the relationship between the two lovebirds, which can evolve over the course of the adventure without ever being mandatory to progress through the story. Players will be able to have them spend time together, send them shopping, take them to the beach or simply go for a stroll. Chilling, basically. You'll even be able to spontaneously suggest an activity to the other character, without going through a dedicated mission. There's an in-game indicator to track how their relationship is developing, too.
This mechanic will have concrete consequences as well. Spending time together unlocks certain bonuses, such as Lucia coming to Jason's aid in particular situations. And vice versa. Rockstar Games has made clear, however, that there's no jealousy or break-up mechanic, meaning Jason and Lucia will remain partners come what may, even if the player chooses not to develop their romance. Another interesting detail: both characters' physiques will change depending on what they eat and how much exercise they get. Just like the old days of GTA San Andreas.
A new "criminal profile"
GTA 6 is also placing greater emphasis on how the player behaves in the open world. The folks at Rockstar Games have developed a new system called the "criminal profile", which in some respects recalls the honour system from Red Dead Redemption 2. In game, several profiles will be available, such as "Professional", "Aggressive", "Violent" and "Psychopath". The way Jason and Lucia commit their crimes will influence their respective profiles. A clean heist, for instance, avoiding needless casualties and favouring stealth, will keep you on the more professional side. Far more violent behaviour, on the other hand, will push the character in another direction. Worth noting: Jason and Lucia can end up with different profiles, with potential consequences for certain story events.
Hideouts will also play a bigger role in GTA 6. Here too Rockstar appears to have drawn on Red Dead Redemption 2, particularly the way camps worked, with characters following their own schedules and a far more interactive environment. As we saw in the Netflix video, you'll be able to open doors, flick switches and interact with a large proportion of the objects lying around your digs. The fridge, for example, can hold various foods and drinks that have effects on your character. You'll also be able to cut your hair or shave at certain hideouts, though more elaborate makeovers will still mean a trip to Vice City's shops.
Very open world
It's obviously one of the aspects pushed hardest across the various previews: Vice City is said to be roughly twice the size of Los Santos in GTA 5, while the Leonida region as a whole will be larger still. For comparison, the map will be around three times the size of Red Dead Redemption 2's, with a huge number of areas to explore and shops to visit, plus buildings and locations that won't always be marked on the map. Some hotels can be explored from top to bottom, complete with lifts taking you up to the upper floors and roofs with no loading times whatsoever. A zoo and a sizeable military base are also among the places to discover. We've also learned that the open world will no longer be as compartmentalised as before. Missions and activities will be more interconnected, while traffic and pedestrians will shift according to the time of day.
NPCs more alive than ever
Something else that comes up in the previews: Rockstar Games has dedicated an entire team to creating and managing GTA 6's NPCs. Their behaviour will be far more natural, with different reactions depending on the situation. Pulling a weapon on someone, for example, won't always produce the same response. A passer-by might back away, panic, call the police or, conversely, square up to you. The other big difference compared with previous Rockstar Games titles is that GTA 6's NPCs come in a range of builds and heights, with animations tailored to their physiques. Rockstar has recorded around 600,000 animations, against roughly 300,000 for Red Dead Redemption 2 and 55,000 for GTA 5. Bonkers.
The small details will be everywhere too: footprints in the sand, objects that react to collisions, dog leads that wrap around Jason's arm, and animals you'll be able to observe and log in a proper bestiary. And as is so often the case with Rockstar, some random encounters promise to be distinctly improbable — one preview reported running into a completely naked man asking for help in the middle of traffic.
Grand Theft Automobile
Vehicle theft in GTA 6 has also been extensively reworked. Not every car will be accessible in the same way, and some models will require specific tools to be stolen. High-end vehicles, in particular, may come with complex electronic systems or tracking devices. Happily, though, an app installed on Jason and Lucia's phone will let you pull up information on vehicles and their potential value.
Robberies will be far more elaborate as well, in the sense that shops can be hit freely, while several categories of heist will be on offer, from corner stores to much larger-scale operations. During a two-hander robbery, the AI-controlled character won't just stand around waiting: Lucia might hold the staff and customers at gunpoint while Jason ransacks the back room. You'll then need to find fences to shift the stolen goods, with different middlemen specialising in different types of loot.
Replay value
As for the law, the famous star system is back, with six wanted levels this time around, but Rockstar Games is mainly out to make pursuits far more believable. The police can now gather various pieces of information on the suspect: their face, their clothes, their vehicle, their weapon, whether they have a partner, and even CCTV footage. Witnesses can also remember certain details and pass them on to the authorities. So you're better off changing your outfit or your car to muddy the trail and bring that star meter down. On that note, the wanted system will also lean far more heavily on dynamic search zones. The police won't necessarily know your exact position and will have to track you down from whatever information they've got.
Among the new features we can expect from GTA 6, we've learned that Rockstar Games also wants to give players more freedom in the main missions. Certain choices can alter how the story unfolds, with several branches and different possible approaches. The game has in fact been designed to be replayed more than once, with some decisions carrying greater or lesser consequences and changing the course of the story. The chapter structure already used in Red Dead Redemption 2 is back as well, while the unofficial word on length puts the main quest at around 80 hours. And if you start totting up the side content and fancy going for 100%, you know full well you can multiply that figure by three or even four, easy.
Driving closer to GTA 4
Another notable change, and one that'll delight Niko Bellic fans: driving in GTA 6 has been completely rethought and should feel heavier and more realistic than in GTA 5. Rockstar is essentially looking for a balance between the feel of GTA 4 and the accessibility of GTA 5, with far more pronounced differences between vehicles. Damage will also have more of an impact on your motors, meaning a blown tyre can genuinely make driving harder and send you spinning out. In the same vein, you'll need to remember to fill up at petrol stations, while garages can be bought to store vehicles. There'll also be a nitro system to give your cars a boost, plus Burnout-style camera angles during the nastiest crashes.
GTA 6 has also overhauled how weapons work, with a more realistic feel and far more recoil and impact when you use them. Assault rifles, for instance, will demand better control when you're letting off bursts. Elsewhere, the wheel-style inventory from GTA 5 returns, though managed in a way that's closer to Red Dead 2. And in keeping with the realism of it all, Jason and Lucia can carry several handguns as well as heavier weapons, but the available arsenal is deliberately limited. You'll have to choose what you want to keep on you, with vehicle boots serving as extra storage. Another notable and rather interesting development: it will be possible to neutralise certain enemies without necessarily killing them, notably by shooting their hands or their weapons.
A world that's even more connected and interactive
Jason and Lucia's phone won't just be an interface element like in GTA 5, because Rockstar has decided to turn it into a genuine gameplay tool, built into and connected with the world around you. Our two protagonists will be able to use social media, watch livestreams, order things from online shopping sites or chat with their friends and other contacts. Several apps have already been revealed, including BuckMe for banking, RydeMe, an Uber parody, WhatUp, which acts as an instant messenger, and Waink, the app that lets you scan vehicles. In game, the smartphone will be visible in the character's hands rather than existing purely as a HUD overlay.
GTA 6 also intends to shake up how you interact with the characters in its open world, with countless small touches that make it feel like a coherent, organic place (you love that word, I know). You'll be able to catch a bus or a train by validating your ticket, stash bags in your vehicle, do the shopping, feed dogs or interact with a genuinely impressive number of objects across the open world. Even litter can be dropped in a bin, and it'll feed into your criminal profile. Rockstar Games commits so hard that you'll even be able to pick up dog mess and hurl it at NPCs. No, really.
A technical monster
Finally, it's worth noting that Rockstar has poured 13 years of development into GTA 6, with some work beginning as far back as GTA 5's release. We've learned that the teams have doubled in size since Red Dead Redemption 2, purely to cope with the density of the open world, the sheer volume of animation work and the amount of detail needed to make Vice City feel utterly believable and alive. Rockstar's aim is to bring the best of GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 together in a single game — keeping the accessibility and pace of the former while inheriting the level of detail and immersion of the latter.
On the subject of technical performance, the Scottish studio also wants to substantially improve how distant elements load in. A vehicle spotted far away should remain the same vehicle as the player approaches, so you never notice the graphical shifts the engine is calculating. There will be no first-person view at launch, however: for now Rockstar Games wants to focus on a third-person experience. It'll no doubt turn up in an update further down the line. Several years down the line, probably.
Now we just have to hang on until 19 November 2026, the release date for GTA 6 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, to take this thing full in the face. We can't wait here at screenactu.
