GTA 6 Gameplay: What the Extended Look Confirmed

Most of what is known about GTA 6 gameplay comes from Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look, 26 minutes captured on PlayStation 5 and released on 27 August 2026. It confirmed six wanted stars, a Criminal Profile that remembers how you behave, switching between Jason and Lucia, new tools to steal cars and a long list of activities. Everything below comes from that footage; the videos themselves are on our GTA 6 trailers page.

Six Wanted Stars

The wanted level goes back up to six stars, one more than GTA V. Hollow stars mean the police are searching without knowing exactly who they are after, and changing clothes, putting on a mask or switching vehicles helps you get away, because officers take your appearance and your car into account.

The Criminal Profile

A new system keeps track of how you behave over time, which the press compares to Red Dead Redemption 2's honor. It weighs circumstances: violence a mission calls for is not treated like unnecessary chaos, and even small actions count. Unlike a wanted level, it does not disappear when you lose the police.

Talking Your Way Out

Tense encounters offer choices on screen, to defuse a situation or provoke it, and you can greet or taunt people, or pet or scold a dog. It is the first time a GTA lets you settle so many confrontations without firing.

Jason and Lucia

You can switch between Jason and Lucia, who play both apart and together, and their relationship grows stronger through the time they spend together. The story behind it is on our GTA 6 story page.

Stealing Cars and Fighting

Cars are no longer opened with a simple button press: older models need a slim jim, newer ones a key cloner. In a fight, slow-motion aiming highlights lethal and non-lethal points on a target. Two weapon names appear on screen, the Duke 556 assault rifle and the Moreland 850 shotgun, listed with the rest on our GTA 6 weapons list.

Activities

The footage and its coverage list basketball, scuba diving, kayaking, fishing, hunting, dirt-bike racing and weightlifting among the things to do between missions.

Body Changes

Your character's body reacts to how you play: exercise builds muscle, food affects weight, and going without sleep shows on the face and body.

Livestreams and Social Media

A livestream-style interface, with viewers commenting live, appears during the footage, and social media plays a larger part than in GTA V.

Frame Rate and Map

Rockstar has published no frame rate: the 30 fps figure comes from an interview, detailed on our GTA 6 consoles page. Journalists who previewed the game estimate Vice City at about twice the size of Los Santos and the whole map at about three times Red Dead Redemption 2's, estimates covered on our GTA 6 map page.