Rockstar Games has finally given fans an extended look at Grand Theft Auto 6, offering around 26 minutes of new footage from one of the most anticipated games of all time. The game has kept fans waiting through multiple delays and years of limited information, making this extended look a particularly significant update ahead of its current release date.
The footage shows off the open world, characters, combat, vehicles and a range of activities, while revealing several new details about how the game will play. Here are the biggest things revealed in the GTA 6 extended gameplay footage.
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Jason and Lucia are at the heart of GTA 6
The extended look puts Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos firmly at the centre of GTA 6’s story. The pair are partners in crime as they get pulled deeper into Leonida’s criminal underworld, with Rockstar drawing clear inspiration from the classic Bonnie and Clyde dynamic.
The footage also shows that players can switch between Jason and Lucia during certain parts of the game, which is similar to how you could switch between the protagonists in GTA 5. Their relationship is also expected to evolve based on how players approach the story, although the two don’t necessarily have to become a romantic couple. This gives Rockstar more room to shape their dynamic while keeping both characters important to the overall narrative.
GTA 6 looks more detailed than ever
The extended footage gives us a much better look at Leonida and its characters, and the visual jump is exceptional even among the latest AAA titles. Rockstar has packed the world with detailed environments, realistic character models and more natural animations, from apartment interiors and clubs to beaches, streets and other parts of the open world.
This isn’t surprising in the least, as its last major title, Red Dead Redemption 2, was one of the most detailed and realistic games of its time. It’s only natural that Rockstar intends to set the benchmark again with its latest GTA entry.
The characters also show more variety than we’ve seen in previous GTA games, with different body types, clothing and facial details helping the world feel more lived-in. It may still look very GTA-esque, but the level of detail Rockstar is putting into the world looks like a substantial step up from GTA 5.
Your criminal behaviour can follow you
GTA 6 appears to take a more persistent approach to how the game tracks your behaviour, which is pretty similar to how it worked in Red Dead Redemption 2. Alongside the familiar Wanted system, Rockstar is introducing a Criminal Profile that keeps track of your actions over time, including how much unnecessary violence you use during missions.
Unlike a Wanted level, this profile doesn’t simply disappear once you’ve escaped the police. That could make your choices feel more impactful overtime, as the game can remember how you behave rather than treating every crime as an isolated incident. It also builds on the persistent reputation systems Rockstar introduced in Red Dead Redemption 2.
Six-star Wanted levels are back
Rockstar is bringing back the six-star Wanted system in GTA 6, which should be familiar to anyone who played the older games in the series. The extended footage also shows icons appearing below the Wanted stars to indicate the crimes that have attracted police attention.
Rockstar hasn’t revealed exactly how each Wanted level will work yet, but the return of the six-star system means escaping the police could become increasingly difficult as your crimes escalate. Beyond being a game mechanic, the Wanted system has always been one of the key reasons GTA remains so replayable. You can jump back into the game at any time, cause absolute chaos across the city, rack up Wanted stars and see how long you can survive against the law forces.
GTA 6 has plenty to do beyond the main story
Rockstar has always packed its games with a tonne of supplementary activities outside the main questline, giving players plenty of reasons to explore the world on their own terms. GTA 6 will naturally continue that approach, with the extended look showing dirt-bike racing, drag racing, scuba diving, base jumping and other side activities.
These activities also give players more freedom to decide how they want to spend their time in Leonida. You can focus on the story, explore the world at your own pace or return for another playthrough and discover things you may have missed the first time around. Even smaller interactions, such as eating, exercising and interacting with animals, add to that sense of freedom.
For players who enjoy chasing 100 percent completion, GTA 6 could keep them occupied for a very long time. Rockstar has consistently made its worlds rewarding to explore beyond the main storyline, and everything we’ve seen so far suggests Leonida will be no different.
Social media is part of the GTA 6 world
The extended look shows Lucia stealing a car with someone hiding in the trunk, who is later seen livestreaming the police chase while viewers react through chat messages on screen.
This builds on what Rockstar introduced in GTA 5, where social media existed largely as part of the game’s satire through fictional websites, posts and characters. GTA 6 appears to make it more active and visible within the world itself, with characters actually creating and consuming live content.
It fits the modern setting of GTA 6 rather well and gives Rockstar another way to poke fun at internet culture. We don’t yet know how deeply these social media elements will affect gameplay, but they look to be more deeply embedded this time around.
Combat looks more dynamic
The extended footage also gives us a better look at GTA 6’s combat. Rockstar appears to be bringing back slow-motion aiming, along with highlighted enemy weak points that can help players line up more precise shots.
The idea isn’t new to Rockstar either, GTA 5 already gave Michael a Bullet Time ability that slowed down combat, while Red Dead Redemption 2 took the concept further with its Dead Eye system. GTA 6 appears to build on that familiar formula, although we still don’t know how extensively players will be able to use it.
The footage suggests Rockstar is adding a little more depth to shootouts without moving too far away from the fast-paced gunplay that GTA players already know.
Final thoughts
The extended look is easily our most detailed look at GTA 6 so far, and it revealed plenty that we hadn’t seen before. Rockstar also showed several details that go beyond what we saw in the recent CyberLeek leaks, if you’ve been following them, giving us a much better idea of how the world, characters and gameplay systems will come together.
There are still plenty of unanswered questions, however. Rockstar didn’t reveal any major information about GTA 6 Online, and we also got only brief glimpses of some of the smaller systems that could make the world feel more alive. Characters can eat, exercise and seemingly change physically based on their activities, but we will have to wait for the full game to understand how deeply these systems affect gameplay.
For now, the extended look has done exactly what Rockstar needed it to do: build even more excitement around GTA 6. After years of waiting, multiple delays and a steady stream of rumours and leaks, we finally have a much clearer picture of what Rockstar has been building. The wait isn’t over just yet, but it finally has an end date, with GTA 6 set to arrive on November 19, 2026.
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