How It Works
GTA 6 systems
The rules underneath the game. Here is every system Rockstar has shown running, with what it does and what has not been established.
Rockstar's Extended Look on August 27 2026 and the July preview coverage that unlocked alongside it were the first time GTA 6's systems were described rather than glimpsed. The wanted level goes to six stars and the police track specific things about you. A Criminal Profile remembers how you behave. Robberies and car theft both have rules that reward planning.
Each system gets its own page here, built only from what Rockstar has shown or said on record. Where a detail comes from the leaked footage rather than Rockstar, it says so, and nothing on these pages invents a number, a threshold, or a mechanic that was not shown.
Confirmed systems
Wanted System
Six wanted stars are back, and the police track what they actually know about you: your face, your clothes, your car, and whether Jason and Lucia are together. Escaping means breaking each of those, not just outrunning a radius.
Read more →Criminal Profile
A reputation track that remembers how Jason and Lucia behave over time, from needless violence to petty things like where they throw their trash. Unlike a wanted level, it does not reset when the police give up.
Read more →Robberies
Store and bank robberies are a repeatable system, not just set pieces. Speed against take, safes you can blow or crack, back exits, and police who will surround the building and wait for you to walk out.
Read more →Vehicle Theft
Cars are split into security tiers. Old ones open with a slim jim, modern luxury cars need key-cloning tools, and some are off limits until the story unlocks the gear. The WAINK app tells you which is which before you try.
Read more →Body Customization
Jason and Lucia's physiques change with how you play: the gym and what you eat both shift how they look, and extended periods without sleep alter their facial features. The system returns from GTA San Andreas, where the same variables governed CJ.
Read more →Combat
Bullet time returns, enemies have targetable weak spots at the head, hands and joints, and hand-to-hand fights now include a dedicated dodge. All three were confirmed in the Extended Look on August 27 2026.
Read more →Safehouse
The shared home base for Jason and Lucia, with a lived-in feel closer to Red Dead Redemption 2's camps than to GTA 5's isolated save points. The Extended Look showed opening a fridge, picking a drink, watching TV with in-game ads, and changing clothes.
Read more →Character Switching
Switching between Jason and Lucia is instant when they are in the same place, and plays a brief transition when they are apart. Some missions are built for only one of them. The two can also split up during a police chase, with one drawing attention so the other gets away.
Read more →NPC Interaction
Red Dead Redemption 2's interaction system returns and goes further. Hold the left trigger near a person or an animal and a set of context options appears, so Jason and Lucia can greet, taunt, provoke or defuse the people around them, and pet or scold a dog.
Read more →The Phone
GTA 6's phone is an object in the world rather than a menu drawn over the HUD. Jason or Lucia physically pulls it out and the camera moves in on their hand. It carries the confirmed apps: Snapmatic, WAINK and Ryde Me.
Read more →Money and the Economy
Money matters more to GTA 6's campaign than to any previous game in the series. Players may need to raise a specific amount of cash before parts of the main story will advance, and stolen goods have to be moved through fences rather than sold anywhere.
Read more →Weapon Handling
Jason and Lucia can swap between two firearms on the fly without opening a weapon wheel, and can wield certain weapons one-handed, which is how a character fires while carrying a duffel bag in the other hand.
Read more →Weapon Carry Rules
GTA 6 has a confirmed carry limit: two concealed handguns at all times, plus two long guns that show on your back and in hand. NPCs react to a long gun held out but not to one slung on the back.
Read more →Sprint Controls
GTA 6 maps sprint to L3 by default: a single click of the left stick rather than the repeated button presses that GTA and Red Dead Redemption 2 have used for over two decades. Whether a classic control preset exists is unconfirmed.
Read more →Fences
Specialised buyers who purchase stolen goods in GTA 6. Stolen jewellery, vehicles, and other valuables must be moved through a fence rather than converting to cash directly. Vehicle fences also share intelligence on specific cars sitting in impound lots.
Read more →Relationship System
Jason and Lucia's relationship is shaped by player choices rather than fixed by the story. Romance is optional; activities together move it forward, and it uses relationship states rather than a visible meter.
Read more →GTA 6 Online
Rockstar's own tribunal documents describe a 32-player online format as 'one of the most closely guarded secrets of the company.' When GTA 6 Online launches and what it includes have not been announced.
Read more →Dynamic Weather System
GTA 6 has a localized, persistent weather system that includes tropical storms and hurricanes, confirmed by Game Informer's Issue 382 cover story on September 29 2026.
Read more →Drugs
GTA 6 received a PEGI 18 rating with a Drugs content descriptor and an ESRB M for Mature rating with a Use of Drugs and Alcohol descriptor. The PEGI content description, since pulled from PEGI's site, said cocaine can be carried by the player and snorted directly from their hand at any time.
Read more →On-Foot Radio & Podcasts
GTA 6 is the first game in the series to let players listen to radio and on-demand podcasts while on foot, through headphones or earbuds connected to the in-game smartphone. Both were confirmed on October 8 2026 when Rockstar revealed the first six radio stations.
Read more →More systems will be added here as Rockstar shows them.
Frequently asked
How many wanted stars does GTA 6 have?+
Six. The Extended Look confirmed the six-star maximum returns after GTA 5 capped it at five, and police now track your face, clothing, vehicle, and whether Jason and Lucia are together.
Does GTA 6 have an honor system?+
It has a Criminal Profile that plays the same role as Red Dead Redemption 2's Honor. It tracks unnecessary violence and everyday behaviour over time, and Rockstar says Leonida's residents react to the patterns.
Can you steal any car in GTA 6?+
Not from the start. Vehicles are split into security tiers. Older cars open with a slim jim, modern luxury cars need key-cloning tools, and some are locked until story progress unlocks the equipment.