The launch of Grand Theft Auto VI is set to be a global event, with fans impatiently waiting for Rockstar’s next magnum opus. The principal theme will be the same: straddling criminal activity to forge a more luxurious lifestyle but given Rockstar’s track record of innovative gameplay features in every GTA entry, there’ll be plenty of new things for players to experience on their climb towards higher social and criminal status in GTA VI. This feature aims to speculate on 15 potential new features – some spotted in official trailers, others from rumours and educated guesses.
Dynamic Economy System
GTA V’s in-game markets BAWSAQ and LCN could already be manipulated to our playable trio’s financial gain, most notably via Lester’s assassination missions. Grand Theft Auto VI could one-up these money-making systems via in-game market trends, global events, and deeper responses to player actions. Certain missions could raise unemployment, extensive crime waves could force Leonida’s government to intensify taxpayer funds towards law enforcement, affecting consumer spending, raising inflation and unemployment. Buy low, sell high could be a far more involved, more organic operation in GTA VI.
Advanced AI NPCs
Rockstar have already showcased some fantastic NPC AI in Red Dead Redemption 2, so expect to interact with more lifelike, reactionary citizens on the streets of Vice City too. Broader interaction potential and dialogue options might seem obvious inclusions, but the consequences of these interactions – the forming of friendships or rivalries, perhaps – could inject realism beyond what RDR 2 achieved. In-game social media might have a hand in this too. We already know GTA VI will feature some Tik Tok style video sharing platform; filming, uploading, and reacting minute-to-minute via socials could be an activity shared by players and NPCs alike.
Emotional NPC states
GTA VI’s advanced AI potential can extend beyond dialogue options and social media shares too. It’s not out of the question for NPCs dotted throughout Leonida to exhibit a range of emotions and psychological states. Maybe their dialogue options will be reflective of their reaction to mission outcomes and in-game events. Perhaps some other dynamic element – such as the fluctuating economy situation already mentioned – can have a tangible effect on their mood which is then exhibited in their ability to make clear-headed decisions.
Fully customisable cities
An evolving in-game map is one of GTA VI’s most strongly touted rumours and should this come to fruition it’s interesting to speculate how much of a hand the player will have in customising Vice City’s landscape and surrounding backwater. Properties could be purchased, knocked down, redeveloped, extended; land could be purchased with houses, business, hotels, and casinos constructed from the ground up. And perhaps the inverse: buildings can be destroyed, with the city’s property developers forced to rebuild over time.
Realistic weather
Florida is a hurricane state, so it’s not out of the question Leonida could befall some extreme weather from time to time. The question here though is, would it be fun to hunker down for a couple of days waiting for strong winds to pass? Either way, weather could be a neat way to inject yet more realism into GTA VI. Rain and wind affecting everything from driving mechanics to NPC morale, for instance. Missions, especially, could have their outcomes drastically affected by the climate.
Enhanced stealth mechanics
GTA V featured stealth mechanics: a sort of half-crouch walk, stealth takedowns, and weapon silencers. However, full crouch and prone manoeuvrability will surely be within player-characters Lucia and Jason’s move sets this time around, enhancing any missions requiring a clandestine approach. Tools and gadgets to augment covertness could play a huge part in the pair evading capture and completing missions undetected too. Hiding bodies is surely a must. In short: Rockstar have a lot of scope in what they can do to deepen GTA’s stealth mechanics given the half-baked nature of sneaking around in GTA V.
Specialised skill progression
Each character shares skill attributes in GTA V. Strength, stamina, shooting, driving, flying, all these components can be maxed out for each character, diminishing the distinction between them (their unique special abilities notwithstanding). GTA VI could opt for a deeper RPG-style experience in this regard, with divergent skill trees presenting paths that can be followed, tailoring each character’s usefulness for certain situations, or to suit individual playstyles.
New health items
Furthering the RPG tropes, GTA VI could introduce more in-depth methods to replenish health. Egochaser and e-Cola surely won’t cut it on Vice City’s sun-bleached streets, and there was always something jarring about calling a paramedic to instantaneously heal your wounds in GTA IV. Medication items such as painkillers, inhalers, or eye drops could be used to treat specific ailments, whilst more substantial injuries may take time to heal following hospital visits or – somewhat gorily – some gritty self-performed bathroom surgery.
Interactive music industry
GTA has history of delivering fantastic soundtracks heard through a string of diverse radio stations. Eschewing GTA: Vice City’s 1980’s timeline, GTA VI is set in the modern day and thus presents Rockstar with opportunity to revolutionise how the game’s music bleeds into the neon-soaked cityscape. For instance, the real-life listening landscape has changed; streaming and social media are principal sources of new music. Perhaps our protagonists can tap into this via nurturing burgeoning in-game musical talent, managing their careers, marketing their songs, attending their concerts, getting them airtime on any one of GTA VI’s radio stations. It could be a lucrative new avenue that gamers can explore beyond the stock market.
Advanced criminal enterprises
Plenty of factions, gangs, organisations, and groups are anticipated in Grand Theft Auto VI. Will there be scope for our bandit couple Lucia and Jason to become an integral cog of these enterprises’ machines? Climbing through the ranks of a criminal organisation or arranging a series of illegal street races, in past GTAs we’ve always been a participant in someone else’s enterprise. Maybe now is the time to orchestrate and proliferate from an illicit enterprise of our own.
More realistic police AI
Speaking of illicit enterprises, GTA’s police forces have often been portrayed as seedy, corrupt organisations. This time perhaps the police will be portrayed as more of a hard-boiled, straight-and-narrow association. Actually, no, scrap that; they’ll be as devious as they’ve ever been. In fact, an advanced, more realistic, and tougher to outwit VCPD seems likely. There’re rumours of dispatch timers meaning the cops will take time to attend a crime (differing from them immediately spawning wherever they like), but their ability to recognise Lucia and Jason seems likely, understand it’s the same duo causing carnage again, and respond accordingly would be a realistic addition.
More accessible interiors
Despite Cyberpunk 2077’s visual splendour, there are gripes that Night City is just glitzy window-dressing, with only a handful of accessible buildings. The rest are there to look nice. Rockstar could look to address this in Vice City’s modern incarnation with more accessible interiors. Cafés, gyms, domino clubs, shops and supermarkets, maybe other people’s houses, it’d be great if practically everywhere was accessible.
Customisable buildings and interiors
Rumoured too is Lucia and Jason’s homestead which, alongside owning, can evolve over time based on a player’s economic status, story, and standing amongst their various criminal enterprises. Décor, furnishings, the food in the fridge, there’s definite room for Rockstar to make interior customisation a prime new feature for GTA VI via purchased houses and apartments, plus acquired businesses and utilities.
Evolving world events
Major world events affecting Vice City and the surrounding Leonida landscape wouldn’t be too much of a stretch given their half-explored potential in GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2. Some of these might not even be within player control, such as pollical upheaval or natural disasters, but some cataclysmic, city-altering event could be coordinated by the player directly, with the result being to alter the game’s environments and storylines in ways that benefit the player and hinder their adversaries.
Varied animal population
This being a caricatured Floridian locale, GTA VI could exhibit a raft of living, breathing wildlife to shoo-in newfound levels of realism to the city and countryside beyond. On the streets, dogs, foxes, raccoons, possums; on the shoreline, wild flamingos, dolphins, and manatees; in the wildlands, bobcats, coyotes, and Florida panthers; in the swamps, otters, herons, and the daddy of Floridian wildlife: the fearsome alligator. How we interact with the animals populating Leonida’s varied habitats remains to be seen (aside from maybe dodging a gator’s peeping surface-level eyes via airboat), but their inclusion would be another next-level attempt at immersion.
