Rockstar Games used a Netflix special to show nearly 26 to 30 minutes of Grand Theft Auto 6 gameplay, described by outlets as pure gameplay and cutscenes with no developer narration. The footage followed protagonists Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos through activities including a drug deal, a grocery store robbery, a police shootout, and a rooftop party gone wrong, alongside quieter moments like lounging in their Vice City apartment. The game remains set for release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X on November 19.
Several mechanics echo Red Dead Redemption 2, according to Kotaku and PC Gamer. A context-sensitive interaction menu returns for talking to people and animals, weapons now have named brands and model numbers, and players can hot-swap between Jason and Lucia during combat without a loading screen. A new "Criminal Profile" system, compared to RDR2's Honor system, tracks good and bad deeds such as petting a dog or escalating unnecessary violence. Combat allows enemies to be killed or incapacitated, with a reticle that can highlight specific body parts, and a six-star wanted system means police remember a player's appearance, clothing, and vehicle, requiring disguises, hair cuts, or vehicle swaps to shake pursuit.
The game will include an extensive list of side activities, according to IGN, Eurogamer, and Polygon reporting: strip clubs, basketball, scuba diving, weightlifting, kayaking, BASE jumping, dirt biking, fan boats, mini golf, pool, fishing, gambling, jet skiing, and backyard wrestling, among others. Many of these can reportedly be done together as a couple. Food and exercise affect Jason and Lucia's physical appearance over time, with overeating causing weight gain and exercise building muscle, a mechanic Polygon notes resembles a feature from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Sources differ slightly on how romance functions between Jason and Lucia. Kotaku, citing IGN, reports the two start in a romantic relationship but players can choose to keep it platonic or nurture it through activities like holding hands or replying to texts, without changing core story beats. Polygon quotes Rockstar North's Rob Nelson telling IGN that players can keep the relationship strictly platonic if they choose. It remains unconfirmed whether the game will feature a sex scene akin to the infamous "Hot Coffee" mod from a previous GTA title, though Polygon notes prior leaks indicate the game includes nudity and a nudist colony.
Multiple outlets flagged unresolved questions. Rockstar has not named any voice cast members, despite past games featuring stars like Ray Liotta and Samuel L. Jackson; Polygon expects the studio to again use lesser-known actors as it did for GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2. Neither the Netflix reveal nor subsequent previews mentioned the future of GTA Online, despite its financial importance to Rockstar and Take-Two, according to Polygon and PC Gamer. IGN reported no official map has been revealed, though Kotaku states the world is twice the size of GTA 5's map and three times that of Red Dead Redemption 2's, and confirmed there will be no first-person mode at launch, with first-person perspective limited to certain weapons.
Eurogamer also noted that Rockstar has faced labor unrest during the game's development, including the firing of roughly 40 employees that drew criticism from the UK's Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain, and the formation of the Rockstar Game Workers Union, which Eurogamer says could soon be large enough to trigger statutory union recognition.