While the Grand Theft Auto 6 Extended Look confirmed that the upcoming title will be going back to the franchise’s staple 6-star wanted level system, with police response to crime constantly escalating depending on the player’s actions, the system has seemingly been pushed even further. As caught by Eurogamer, the police in Vice City seem to be capable of creating a profile of the protagonist, announcing suspect descriptions through radio chatter that include details like clothes, car, and potential companions.
The Extended Look also showcased the fact that players will be able to lose some of their wanted levels if they manage to hide from the cops for long enough and switch to a different vehicle. Whether this will also be the case when clothes are changed remains to be seen. Witnesses also seem to play a key role here, since the police won’t show up out of nowhere and a crime has to be reported first for there to be a response.
Expanding on the Honor system from Red Dead Redemption 2, Grand Theft Auto 6 will also feature a Criminal Profile system that reflects the player’s behaviour throughout the game. Studio co-head Rob Nelson explained the system to IGN in an interview.
The Criminal Profile system seems to be smart enough to understand the context of a player’s actions. For example, fighting off someone in self-defence won’t instantly turn you into a criminal. Nelson also noted that it will be up to players to de-escalate a tense situation if they want to.
“If you hit and run, commit a crime and run, get into trouble and move on before the cops get there, and you don’t start shooting people, don’t start escalating – which you absolutely can do if you want to – but if you don’t, you’re generally going to be fine. It’s when you go beyond what is necessary on a consistent basis, or you do completely unnecessary stuff consistently, that you may start to sway your criminal profile in a certain direction.”
Grand Theft Auto 6 is coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 19th.
