Grand Theft Auto has always been about realism while heavily leaning into the satire of its setting. Rockstar has been especially careful with the latter for Grand Theft Auto 6, given the relevance of certain topics, but it’s doubling down on modern-day Vice City feeling as grounded as possible. And that extends to the world reacting to how heavily armed you are.
It’s a far cry from previous games where you could run around, armed to the teeth, with relative impunity. “We don’t feel that works any longer at this resolution with the behavioral sophistication we need from our population now,” said Rockstar North co-studio director Rob Nelson to TGG. “In GTA 5, you can pull out a shotgun from nowhere in front of people, and they don’t react. That doesn’t work here.”
Granted, the NPCs did react, often begging off and not wanting to be shot. But Grand Theft Auto 6 goes even deeper, including what you can carry. “You can always have two concealed handguns on you whenever you want. You can carry two long guns, and they will be visible on your back and in your hand. You can’t put both on your back. One goes in your off hand, one on your back if you want to carry two. People will react to you if you are rolling around like that.”
Given how open carry law works, especially in Leonida, NPCs won’t immediately start freaking out when they see a long gun on your back. It’s a different story when it’s in your hands. “NPCs are more nuanced than before, so if you just have a long gun on your back, you should be fine. If you’ve got one in your hand, people don’t like it, and they react and start moving away from you,” said Nelson. I wouldn’t be surprised if they even called the police, reporting a potential madman (or woman) before anything goes down.
Of course, these are only a few facets of the realistic experience that Grand Theft Auto 6 wants to offer. You’ll need to refuel your vehicles – one of the more controversial changes that Nelson says is “pretty fast” – and driving looks to be more realistic, with Rockstar combining the best aspects of GTA 4 and GTA 5.
Launching on November 19th, the open-world action-adventure will be available on Xbox Series X/S and PS5. The Extended Look showcased 30 FPS gameplay on PS5 Pro, which could be the only option available at launch. Head here for more details.
