Grand Theft Auto VI is shaping up to be considerably more systemic and realistic than GTA V. New details shared following an exclusive visit to Rockstar North reveal major changes to police pursuits, robberies, vehicles, money, Jason and Lucia’s relationship, the smartphone, world size and even how players progress through the story.
Brazilian content creator Davy Jones was invited to Rockstar’s Edinburgh studio, where he watched an extended GTA 6 demonstration and spoke with Rob Nelson, Rockstar North’s co-studio head and development lead.
The information provides one of the clearest pictures yet of how Rockstar intends to evolve the traditional GTA formula, with individual systems interacting in ways that can completely change an ordinary crime or police chase.
GTA 6 Police Will No Longer Normally Appear on the Minimap
One of the biggest changes involves GTA 6’s police system.
According to information shared from the Rockstar demonstration, police officers will no longer normally appear on the minimap during pursuits.
Instead of constantly watching icons moving toward the player, Rockstar wants players to pay attention to the actual environment to determine where officers are coming from.
Jason and Lucia’s Focus ability can apparently provide some assistance, but the fundamental idea is to make escaping the police less dependent on watching the HUD.
That’s only part of the change.
Police officers will operate according to information they actually have about the suspect.
A description could include the protagonist’s clothing, physical appearance, vehicle and weapons. Changing clothes or abandoning a recognizable vehicle could therefore become a legitimate strategy for escaping.
It is a major departure from GTA V, where police generally possess an almost supernatural understanding of the player’s location.
Crimes Depend More Heavily on Witnesses
The wider crime system also appears closely connected to what NPCs and police actually witness.
Instead of every illegal action automatically giving law enforcement perfect knowledge of what happened, GTA 6 is designed around information being reported and observed.
That could make witnesses significantly more important during robberies.
The system fits Rockstar’s broader philosophy described by Nelson: police perception is supposed to reflect what officers can realistically see, including clothing, vehicles and weapons.
Vehicles themselves can complicate matters as well. Some stolen cars have alarms or advanced trackers capable of alerting police, meaning even stealing a vehicle can create different consequences depending on what the player takes.
Store Robberies Are Much More Complex
Robbing stores will no longer be quite as simple as pointing a gun at a cashier and waiting for money.
The new system is designed to create different situations depending on the location, NPCs and circumstances surrounding the crime.
Jason and Lucia can participate in crimes together, while the wider systems allow Rockstar to vary how people react to what the player is doing.
The broader philosophy is important because Rockstar says it has built numerous interconnected systems rather than treating every crime as an isolated scripted event.
That means a robbery can potentially turn into a completely different situation because of a witness, alarm, vehicle, police response or other variable.
GTA 6 Will Have Gas Stations and EV Charging Stations
One of GTA 6’s most controversial rumored mechanics is now much more concrete: vehicles have fuel.
Gasoline-powered cars and motorcycles can actually run out of fuel, requiring players to refuel them.
Electric vehicles aren’t exempt from the system either.
Rockstar confirmed that EVs will have charging points around Leonida.
Nelson described an example from his own gameplay in which he stole a vehicle while escaping police without realizing it had less than a quarter of a tank. The car eventually ran out of fuel during the chase.
Rockstar sees situations like this as a source of emergent gameplay.
However, Nelson stressed that the studio doesn’t want fuel management to become annoying. A full tank is designed to last for a considerable amount of time.
You Can’t Simply Flip an Overturned Car Back Over
Another familiar GTA convenience is disappearing.
If a vehicle ends up upside down, players will not be able to simply use the analog stick to magically flip the entire car back onto its wheels.
Rockstar has deliberately moved vehicle behavior toward greater physicality, with different cars responding differently according to their model and terrain. Vehicle damage can also have practical consequences, including engine damage affecting drivability.
This doesn’t mean GTA 6 is becoming a driving simulator, but it does indicate that Rockstar is removing some of GTA V’s more arcade-like conveniences.
Money Will Matter More Than Ever in GTA 6
Perhaps the most consequential revelation concerns money.
According to Nelson, Rockstar wants money to matter more in GTA 6 than it has in any previous Grand Theft Auto game.
And this isn’t simply about buying expensive cars or clothes.
At certain points, players may actually need to go out into the open world and earn enough money before they can continue progressing through the story.
Players can generate income through activities including bank robberies, convenience-store robberies, gas-station robberies, financial establishments, stealing and selling vehicles and discovering valuable goods throughout Leonida.
This creates a fundamentally different relationship between GTA 6’s story and open world.
Instead of completing one story mission and immediately moving to the next, players may occasionally need to live as criminals in Leonida, find opportunities and make money before the narrative moves forward.
Cash and Bank Money Are Different
Rockstar is going even further with its economy.
Money physically carried by Jason or Lucia will be treated differently from money deposited in the bank.
If the player gets arrested, cash being carried can be lost.
That creates an incentive to use ATMs and deposit earnings rather than walking around Vice City carrying everything.
Banked money, meanwhile, is shared between Jason and Lucia.
It’s another example of GTA 6 making previously superficial systems relevant to actual gameplay.
Stealing Cars Can Become a Business
Considering the name Grand Theft Auto, Rockstar is also putting considerably more emphasis on actually stealing cars.
Different vehicles can require different methods and equipment, including slim jims and key-cloning devices that become available as players progress.
Stolen vehicles can then be sold through Pay ‘n’ Spray locations or specialized buyers.
Certain buyers will request specific vehicles and pay more for them, effectively turning high-value car theft into another way to make money.
Condition matters too. A heavily damaged stolen car will be worth less than one delivered in good condition.
Rockstar demonstrated one vehicle valued at approximately $21,000.
Jason and Lucia Can Actually Spend Time Together
Jason and Lucia aren’t simply two characters whose relationship exists during cutscenes.
Rockstar has redesigned the protagonist system around the fact that they’re a couple.
They share a relationship attribute, share banked money and can communicate about where they are. During pursuits, one can drive while the other shoots, and players can switch between them.
This should extend beyond missions.
The broader intention is for players to experience Jason and Lucia as an actual couple inhabiting the same world rather than two independent protagonists who occasionally meet for story missions.
Nelson described the player as effectively becoming a guardian of their relationship, experiencing events from both perspectives.
GTA 6’s Smartphone Has a Fully Scrollable Social World
The smartphone is also considerably more integrated into GTA 6.
It includes apps, messages, news, social media and videos created specifically for the game, and its contents evolve as the story progresses.
Rather than social media existing exclusively as scripted trailer sequences, players will be able to interact with GTA 6’s fictional online culture through their phones.
The phone can also perform practical gameplay functions, such as requesting delivery of a personal vehicle.
Rockstar’s intention is for each phone to feel like it genuinely belongs to its respective character, containing appropriate apps and information as Jason and Lucia’s lives evolve.
GTA 6 Will Not Have a Full First-Person Mode at Launch
One surprising omission is first-person gameplay.
According to the information shared from Rockstar, GTA 6 will not feature a complete first-person mode initially.
The studio instead prioritized creating and polishing its third-person animations.
There are still specific circumstances where first-person perspectives can appear, including aiming through certain weapons, but players shouldn’t expect to play the entire campaign in first person like they eventually could in GTA V.
That doesn’t necessarily mean Rockstar could never introduce the feature later.
GTA V itself originally launched without first-person gameplay in 2013 before Rockstar introduced it with the PS4 and Xbox One versions in 2014.
GTA 6’s Campaign Will Be Comparable to Red Dead Redemption 2
Rockstar also provided a rare indication of GTA 6’s length.
Nelson described the overall experience as roughly comparable in duration to Red Dead Redemption 2, although the actual time will vary significantly depending on how much optional content players explore.
Red Dead Redemption 2’s main story is commonly estimated at around 50 hours, which has led to reports suggesting a similar figure for GTA 6.
However, Rockstar did not specifically confirm a 50-hour runtime, so that number should be considered an estimate rather than an official duration.
Given GTA 6’s enormous amount of optional content, the total playtime for players who explore Leonida extensively could be substantially higher.
Vice City Alone Is Twice the Size of Los Santos
Rockstar also finally provided some meaningful context for the scale of GTA 6’s map.
According to Nelson, Vice City alone is approximately twice the size of Los Santos in GTA V.
But another statistic may be even more impressive.
The built-up areas outside Vice City are said to amount to roughly 11 times what GTA V offered, reflecting Rockstar’s decision to populate the rest of Leonida with multiple smaller towns and developed areas rather than surrounding its main city almost entirely with countryside.
That’s an important distinction: Rockstar is not saying the entire GTA 6 map is 11 times larger than GTA V.
The claim concerns the amount of developed or built-up territory outside the primary city.
The game will also contain significantly more accessible interiors, including stores, businesses, building lobbies, rooftops and some mission locations that remain explorable afterward.
GTA 6 Was Running at 30 FPS During Davy Jones’ Demonstration
Performance remains one of the biggest unanswered questions.
Davy Jones says the GTA 6 build he saw running inside Rockstar displayed a 30 FPS counter.
He directly asked Nelson about 30 versus 60 FPS and specifically raised the PS5 Pro.
Nelson did not provide a definitive final specification, saying the technical team would need to clarify the situation.
Therefore, reports claiming that Rockstar has definitively confirmed GTA 6 will be locked to 30 FPS at launch go further than the available evidence.
What can currently be said with confidence is that the development build demonstrated to Davy Jones was running at 30 FPS.
Whether Rockstar ultimately provides another performance option remains unknown.
GTA 6’s Systems Are Designed to Affect Each Other
All these revelations point toward something bigger than a collection of new features.
Rockstar appears to be building GTA 6 around interconnected systems.
Imagine stealing a vehicle to escape a robbery.
The vehicle has been reported by a witness. Police know its description but don’t necessarily know exactly where you are. You discover the car has little fuel. You abandon it and change clothes to make identification harder. Later, you steal another valuable vehicle and sell it. The money earned is deposited and eventually helps fund whatever Jason and Lucia need to progress through the story.
None of those mechanics exists entirely on its own.
That’s seemingly the philosophy behind GTA 6.
Rockstar isn’t merely creating a larger version of GTA V. It’s trying to build a world where crime, money, vehicles, NPCs, police, Jason and Lucia’s relationship and story progression continuously interact with one another.
And if Rockstar can make all of those systems work together consistently across a world as large and dense as Leonida, GTA 6 could represent one of the biggest structural changes the Grand Theft Auto formula has seen in decades.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will police appear on the minimap in GTA 6?
Not normally. Rockstar says police will no longer typically appear on the minimap, forcing players to watch their surroundings. The Focus ability can provide additional assistance.
Will GTA 6 have fuel?
Yes. Gas-powered vehicles can run out of fuel, while electric vehicles will have charging points around Leonida. Rockstar says the mechanic is being balanced so refueling doesn’t become excessively annoying.
Can you flip an overturned car in GTA 6?
You won’t be able to simply use the controls to magically flip an upside-down vehicle back onto its wheels as in GTA V.
Will money matter in GTA 6?
Yes. Rockstar says money will be more important than in previous GTA games, and there will be moments when players need to earn money through open-world activities before progressing the story.
Does GTA 6 have first-person mode?
GTA 6 will not have a complete first-person gameplay mode initially. Rockstar focused its resources on third-person presentation and animations, although certain actions can still use first-person perspectives.
How long is GTA 6?
Rockstar described its duration as roughly comparable to Red Dead Redemption 2. This has led to an estimate of around 50 hours for the main story, but Rockstar has not officially given an exact number of hours.
How big is GTA 6’s map?
Rockstar says Vice City alone is approximately twice the size of GTA V’s Los Santos. The built-up regions beyond Vice City are also dramatically more extensive, with Rockstar citing roughly 11 times the amount compared with GTA V.
Will GTA 6 run at 30 FPS?
The build shown to Davy Jones at Rockstar was running at 30 FPS. Rockstar has not yet definitively confirmed whether the final game will be limited to 30 FPS or offer another performance option.
