My launch preview covered the what and when. This one is about the how: how GTA VI moves, fights, drives and reacts. Since the Extended Look and the press previews in late August, one thing is obvious: this plays a lot more like Red Dead Redemption 2 than GTA V. The game is slower and weightier, and every action has consequences.
Before we start, one important caveat. Nobody outside Rockstar has played it yet. The July previews at Rockstar North were hands-off. Journalists and creators watched Rockstar North's Rob Nelson play live and took notes. So we know what the systems are, but nobody can tell us how the controller feels until November 19.
To keep things honest, I've marked where each detail comes from:
| Confirmed | Rockstar said it officially, or it's clearly visible in the official Extended Look |
| Previews | Reported by press and creators who watched the July demo. Solid, but second-hand, and details can change before launch |
| Unclear | Reports conflict, or it's leak or rumour territory |
Why it feels like Red Dead 2
The comparison comes up constantly, and for good reason. Here are the RDR2 DNA strands I've counted:
- Focus mode (previews). Hold to slow time and highlight targets. Red means a lethal hit, yellow means incapacitate, and you can even pick out parts of a vehicle. It's basically Dead Eye, rebuilt for Vice City. Focus also reveals police through walls, which matters because cops don't appear on the minimap.
- Greet and Antagonize (previews). RDR2's "talk to anyone" system is back. You can greet or antagonize any NPC.
- Body changes (confirmed by Rockstar). Jason and Lucia gain weight from eating, build muscle at the gym, lose it if they stop training, and look visibly worn after long stretches without sleep. It's Arthur Morgan's system, expanded. Haircuts don't grow back instantly either.
- Weapon carry (previews). Two concealed handguns at all times, plus two long guns: one on the back, one in hand. The rest of your arsenal lives in a weapon crate in your vehicle. That's the RDR2 saddle-and-horse loadout, with your car taking the horse's place.
- Shoulder swap and kill cams (previews). Both return from RDR2, and the kill cams are optional.
- Heavier gunplay (previews). More recoil and weight. Sustained rifle fire is less accurate than in GTA V. Traditional auto-aim is off by default, replaced by a lighter, adjustable aim assist.
- Fishing and hunting (previews). Fishing is reportedly as detailed as RDR2's, though fish must be released. Hunting runs through one of Jason's contacts and pays money.
- Animation and weight (confirmed by Rockstar). Rockstar told The New York Times that GTA VI has more than 600,000 animations, compared with roughly 300,000 in RDR2 and 55,000 in GTA V. That's where the RDR2 "everything has weight" feeling comes from.
- Safehouse life (previews). You can eat, shave at the mirror and take out the trash. It has the same lived-in, chores-included feel as Arthur's camp.
TGG, one of the creators at the preview, summed it up best: GTA VI is "somewhat similar to Red Dead Redemption 2, but in the best way possible, forces you to constantly make decisions." He also said GTA V is a game "you can turn your brain off to", and that GTA VI isn't.
One important difference: this isn't RDR2's Honor system. Rockstar was explicit that the new Criminal Profile (more on it below) isn't a morality meter.
The new wanted system
This is the biggest gameplay change in the series, and it's the part I'm most excited to mess with.
Crimes need witnesses (confirmed by Rockstar)
Rockstar North's Rob Nelson told IGN that the wanted system "requires that someone witness the crime, or an alarm needs to be set off for it to be reported to the law." No more cops magically knowing you clipped a parked car in an empty alley. Witnesses, store alarms and stolen-vehicle trackers are what bring the police.
Six stars are back (shown in the Extended Look)
The wanted meter now goes up to six stars. GTA V capped it at five. Multiple outlets saw the six-star meter on screen during the Extended Look's chase with Raul Bautista, where Jason and Lucia climb to four stars and pull in cruisers, SUVs and a helicopter. Nelson also said that by three stars, outrunning police in a normal car gets very hard unless you have something seriously fast or a sports bike.
Heat: the cops build a file on you (previews)
Running alongside the stars, a Heat system tracks what police know about you:
- whether they have CCTV footage
- a description of your face and outfit
- what weapon you used
- your getaway vehicle
Each piece of evidence can be dealt with separately: change clothes, ditch the car, or hit a Pay 'n' Spray (they're back, and they clear vehicle Heat). Masks stop witnesses and cameras from getting a clear description. If you're wanted in an area, your wanted level reportedly spikes again when you return there.
Reading the stars (previews)
| Star state | What it means |
|---|---|
| Solid white | Police have direct line of sight on you |
| Flashing white | Line of sight broken. They're searching your last known position |
| Hollow | Crime reported, but they don't have a description |
| Red | You've escaped, but you're still inside the search area |
In the Extended Look, Lucia rides straight past officers with hollow stars and doesn't get recognised. That's the system working.
Escaping (previews)
- Split Jason and Lucia up during an escape and you can reportedly shed a whole star.
- Police can set up a perimeter around a robbed store. At the top levels, they search the entire map.
- Cops may warn you before escalating if you're armed. Police cars carry shotguns or rifles in the trunk, sometimes body armour, and every cruiser has a tracker.
NPCs: the world reacts
Rockstar has a studio in Los Angeles working almost entirely on NPCs, and it shows.
- A varied population (confirmed by Rockstar). NPCs vary in age, height, body type, tattoos, piercings, cosmetic surgery and fashion, and they change by area. Rockstar's example is that people in Little Cuba look and dress differently from people out in Mount Kalaga National Park.
- They notice your weapons (confirmed by Rockstar, detailed in previews). A holstered gun is fine. Have it out and ready to fire, and civilians get scared. Rockstar specifically mentioned the world reacting to someone carrying a rifle in public.
- They fight back (previews). Store clerks, guards and even random civilians can resist or interfere, and some pull concealed weapons when threatened. When shooting starts, civilians take cover behind cars, walls and benches instead of just sprinting in circles.
- Carjacking has consequences (previews). Pulling someone out of a car triggers a struggle, and passengers can fight back.
- They post about it (previews). NPCs post on the in-game social media, and some posts point to live events you can actually go to. Real Dimez's rise to viral fame plays out through those feeds.
Jason and Lucia: two characters, one partnership
- Switch on the fly (confirmed by Rockstar). You can play them together or separately, and switch between them in missions and free roam. Rockstar's example: Jason drives while Lucia works the phone, or in a chase you flip between driving and shooting out of the window.
- Hand weapons to each other (previews). In a fight, one of them can pass the other a gun.
- The relationship is a system (previews). There's no romance meter. Instead, the relationship moves through states. Dates happen naturally: the zoo, kayaking, the beach, even working out together at the gym. You also get texts, goodnights, hand-holding and walking arm-in-arm.
- A Criminal Profile for each (previews). Their reputations run from Professional to Aggressive, Violent and Psycho. Keep it clean (a robbery with nobody hurt, for example) and you stay Professional. Push past Psycho and the icon reportedly shatters for that playthrough. Rockstar says it may affect the story, and that there's no correct way to play.
Robberies and money
GTA V famously handed you millions with nothing to spend it on. Rockstar has admitted that, and the fix is reportedly in:
- Three kinds of money (previews): money in the bank, managed through the BuckMe app; physical cash, which you lose if you die unless you deposit it at an ATM; and duffel-bag loot, which you sell to fences.
- Any shop can be robbed (previews). Small stores aren't marked on the map, and each has its own layout, cameras, safe, staff and customers. Bigger targets show an estimated payout. You find leads through the story, NPC tips or just exploring.
- Safe codes and fences (previews). Search for codes or buy them from fences. Fences specialise and unlock as the story goes on.
- Money gates progress (previews). Some story beats reportedly need cash, so robbing actually matters.
TGG described a robbery in the demo that went wrong. The clerk was knocked out and the CCTV destroyed, but someone still called the cops. That's the witness system doing its job.
Driving and cars
- Rebuilt handling (Rockstar, via previews). The aim is GTA IV's weight combined with GTA V's accessibility. Real race-car drivers helped tune it, and handling changes with drivetrain, tyres and suspension. Rear-wheel-drive cars need careful throttle control.
- Narrower roads, denser traffic (confirmed by Rob Nelson). He told Insider Gaming that it makes driving "slightly more challenging" and takes "a bit of skill."
- Fuel is real (previews). Refuel at gas stations, which also do repairs. It mostly matters when you grab a random car on low fuel. Rockstar admitted fuel will be divisive.
- Tiered car theft (previews). You can smash a window, which may set off an alarm, or quietly slim-jim the door. Cheap cars hotwire. Expensive ones need a key cloner. The Waink app scans a car's security, tracker, resale value and registration cost. High-end trackers stay quiet at speed, then beep and report your position when you slow down.
- Own what you steal (previews). Register stolen cars for a fee and store them in garages. You can buy garages, but not safehouses. Scooter Bros recovers or delivers your vehicles.
- Bags take space (previews). Bikes carry almost no loot. Vans and trucks carry plenty.
The open world
- Hundreds of enterable interiors (previews). Rockstar didn't confirm the rumoured "700" number. There are working drive-thrus, and the elevator scene in the Extended Look was live gameplay, not a cutscene.
- Activities (previews). Gym memberships that boost health, stamina and Focus, plus basketball, pool, mini golf, backyard wrestling, a shooting range, kayaking, stock-car racing, skydiving, bayou boating and nightclub dancing.
- Small details (previews). Sand on your shoes, sweat after sprinting, plants moving underwater, reflections in puddles and windows. Swimming uses a lung meter.
- The phone (previews). Apps include BuckMe, RydeMe for rides, WhatUp, Waink, Snapmatic and a fitness app. Fast travel works by bus, train, tram, taxi or RydeMe. There's a photo mode (yes!) and a Streamer Mode that mutes copyrighted music.
- Radio changes (previews). The radio wheel is gone. You scroll through stations one at a time, and podcasts are on demand.
- Map size (Rob Nelson, via TGG). Vice City alone is reportedly about twice the size of Los Santos. Full-map comparisons are floating around, but treat exact multipliers as unconfirmed until launch.
- Length (previews). Nelson said his own full playthrough in February took about 80 hours.
Still unclear
- Going prone. Reports conflict. Some say it's in, and others say it wasn't in the demo.
- Focus versus slow-motion aiming. Some previews describe one combined system, others describe two separate ones.
- The Rockstar Editor. Photo mode was shown, but the Editor wasn't in the preview build.
- How it all feels. Aim assist, driving weight and pacing are things nobody has felt in the hand yet.
Not everyone is sold, and that's fair
Not every preview was glowing. PC Gamer loved Vice City but felt the missions looked like "the same old" Rockstar structure. Pure Xbox worried the characters might lack charm. Those are legitimate concerns. RDR2's slower, heavier style was divisive too, and fuel plus a wanted system that needs witnesses won't be for everyone.
My take
I'm all in on this direction. RDR2 is one of my favourite games ever, because the world felt real and your choices left marks on it. If GTA VI brings that to a neon Vice City, with cops who remember your outfit and NPCs who fight back, it's exactly the GTA I've wanted since V. I'm going to be the guy who obeys traffic laws for the first hour just to see what the world does.
Seventeen days. See you in Leonida.
Current as of November 2, 2026. Sources: Rockstar Games' official Extended Look; Rob Nelson's interviews with IGN, Insider Gaming and Dazed; Rockstar's figures given to The New York Times; and coverage of the July 2026 hands-off previews (IGN, TGG, Engadget, Game Informer, PC Gamer, Pure Xbox, VICE). Systems may change before release.
