After a long wait, and one massive wave of exodus, Rockstar Games finally teamed up with Netflix on August 28 to unveil a 26-minute extended look at Grand Theft Auto 6 gameplay to players (which even briefly crashed the platform), showcasing a wealth of actual in-game footage and cutscenes, while also giving players a closer look at the two protagonists this time around—Jason and Lucia. Just like Rockstar Games’ previous works, this title reaches an almost obsessive level of detail in every aspect.
The following are 18 key details revealed by this video and subsequent media interviews.
Seamless transition between cutscenes and gameplay.
At the start of this extended preview, players see Lucia and Jason heading to a gang hideout located in an apartment building, preparing to retrieve some kind of illegal goods for a person named “Poppy.” In this mission, Jason appears to be the playable character, leading Lucia through the building while encountering several highly detailed NPCs along the way. In this and several other scenes, the game footage seems to briefly cut to cinematics before immediately returning to actual gameplay.
The game will feature many QTEs.
At the end of the extended preview, we see Lucia locked in combat with an enemy, transitioning into a QTE sequence that prompts the player to quickly press designated buttons to break free and counterattack. Meanwhile, the player can also make various choices during the process, and in the video, Lucia chooses to grab her high heel and smash it hard into the enemy’s face, followed by a fitting snarky comment. This mechanic could potentially carry through the entire game.
Slow shooting makes a comeback, and you can also target weak points.
During a gunfight sequence, players can see Jason use a slow-motion shooting ability similar to Michael from GTA 5, which slows down time after aiming. However, the difference this time is that weak points marked in red and yellow can be seen on enemies, with red likely representing lethal zones, while yellow allows taking down opponents without killing them.
There will be a wide variety of disguise plots.
During the story mission showcase, players can see the two protagonists changing into various outfits for different occasions, even disguising themselves as different identities. For example, in later story missions, they pose as bodyguards for an important figure, hinting that the game will incorporate some espionage-style storytelling, while also giving characters the opportunity to wear all kinds of distinctive outfits.
Six-star wanted officially returns
Although the series’ maximum wanted level has always been six stars, the previous game, GTA 5, changed it to five stars. However, this extended preview confirms that GTA 6 will once again return to six-star wanted levels. As for what kind of massive police response will be deployed when players reach the maximum wanted level, that remains to be confirmed.
Gunplay compared to GTA 5“More flexible”
From the extended preview of the gunfight scene, you can see the two protagonists smoothly switching weapons. Besides selecting from the weapon wheel, they can also directly pick up guns dropped by enemies on the ground.
Various racing activities return
Just like previous entries in the series, players can take part in all sorts of activities while exploring the entire state of Leonida, and this extended preview showcases three different types of racing: official track races, street racing, and off-road motorcycle endurance races.
Numerous activities on and under the water
Besides driving on land, GTA 6 also doesn’t skimp on water activities. Players can dive straight into swimming, pilot fan boats, jet skis, and canoes to explore the waters across Leonida. What’s more, players can dive underwater, even using professional scuba gear for deep dives to explore the highly detailed underwater world!
Skydiving
With land and water activities covered, aerial activities are naturally not to be missed either. At the end of this preview, players can also see Lucia leaping from the top of a skyscraper and deploying her parachute, and from this shot, players get a fleeting glimpse of just how massive the city map in GTA 6 really is.
Environmental destruction
During the chase with the police, Jason and Lucia can directly shoot out the tires of pursuing police cars, causing them to flip over, crash, and wreck, thereby creating dynamic environmental destruction. In the opening mission, you can also see gangsters shove a police officer into a wall and smash straight through it.
Improved HUD
The game’s HUD looks much cleaner than GTA 5, and it’s also quicker to operate; switching between Lucia and Jason only requires pressing a single button, and the weapon wheel is also more streamlined and faster to use.
Switching speed has greatly increased.
In GTA 5, the team introduced a multi-protagonist design for the first time, letting players switch between characters at any moment during free-roam exploration. This system makes a return in GTA 6, and this time the switching speed will be unbelievably fast.
GTA 4’s weapon icons return.
During the combat in the showcased footage, players can see weapon and equipment icons in the top-right corner that closely resemble the design from the GTA 4 era, positioned just below the wanted star level and ammo information. This design was slightly altered in GTA 5, and for fans who love GTA 4, it definitely carries an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
Main story length
According to a New York Times journalist, if players rush straight through the main story in GTA 6 without touching any side quests or extra content, it would take 80 hours to reach the ending. By comparison, the main storylines of GTA 5 and GTA 4 are around 30 hours, while Red Dead Redemption 2 takes 50 to 60 hours, meaning GTA 6’s main story alone will be the largest scale Rockstar Games has ever delivered, not to mention the wealth of other activities available.
Refuse AI with microtransactions
While appearing on the Kinda Funny broadcast program, Rockstar North co-head Rob Nelson said the development team did not use any generative AI at all during the making of GTA 6, and also confirmed that the game will not include microtransactions that require players to spend extra money.
Just how big is the map?
In a follow-up report from The New York Times, they claim that GTA 6’s map will be twice the size of its predecessor GTA 5, and more than three times the playable area of Red Dead Redemption 2, making it the largest game map Rockstar Games has ever created.
The protagonists were originally not just two.
In an interview with IGN, Rob Nelson revealed that “GTA 6” was originally planned to feature “four protagonists,” aiming to deliver an even grander experience than the three protagonists in “GTA 5″‘s single-player story, but in the end, the team decided to focus the narrative on Jason and Lucia.
The sheer number of animations is staggering.
According to another detail revealed by The New York Times, the number of “animation types” for NPCs in GTA 6 will reach as many as 600,000. Even more strikingly, this figure is more than 10 times that of the previous installment, GTA 5, and twice that of Red Dead Redemption 2. This means players will see incredibly lifelike NPC reactions and details in the game, dramatically increasing its variability on an extraordinary scale.
Source: KOCPC Chinese