Rockstar Games might be taking a page out of its previous release – Red Dead Redemption 2 – to structure the main campaign of the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6. The company recently revealed details about the base and Ultimate editions for Grand Theft Auto 6, and the latter, which costs $100, will include bonuses that are “threaded across all aspects of Jason and Lucia’s story, with new items uncovered behind each chapter.”
This would be a major change for the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Since the 2001 release of Grand Theft Auto 3 – which was also the first 3D entry in the series – the core narrative for the games has largely flowed from mission to mission, and hasn’t really been split up into distinct chapters. However, there have been moments in these titles that one could see as marking the start and end of chapters, like when CJ gets taken out of Los Santos in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, for example.
Red Dead Redemption 2, on the other hand, had a narrative focus on its six main chapters and two-part epilogue. One of the distinct features of its story was the fact that Arthur Morgan and the rest of the Van Der Linde gang would move their base camp further east in their attempts to avoid being discovered by federal agents. While this had little impact on the open world itself, since players, in the role of Morgan, could explore most of the map without major repercussions, new story missions and even side activities would be locked behind certain chapters. The chapters would also allow the story of Red Dead Redemption 2 to make major changes to its world, since it also denoted the passage of time.
If Grand Theft Auto 6 takes its cues about narrative structure from Red Dead Redemption 2, we could similarly end up seeing Jason and Lucia travel all across the state of Leonida – the game’s primary setting – throughout their journey together. Whether this means that some parts of the game’s world will be locked out remains to be seen, however.
As for what kind of extra content you’ll get from the $100 Ultimate Edition of Grand Theft Auto 6, Rockstar Games has confirmed that it will include an “exclusive collection of premium vehicles, weapons, apparel, and action around every corner.” Players will also get access to an exclusive shop for modifying their vehicles, dubbed Rideout Customs, as well as a place for unique hairstyles, facial hair, makeup, and nailwork, dubbed Sara’s Unisex Salon.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is being developed for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, and is slated for release on November 19th. Pre-orders will begin on June 25th. In the meantime, you can take look at some of the PS5 features of the title thanks to its listing on the PlayStation Store. This includes “near-instant load times”, and support for PS5 Pro features thanks to its “PS5 Pro Enhanced” tag. Rockstar Games will likely reveal more details about the title with a brand-new trailer that we expect to drop soon.