Edge’s GTA 6 preview shows a game where Jason and Lucia’s relationship grows through time spent together, and where police chase what they know about you, not just a star rating. You can shake a description by changing clothes, dropping your weapon or splitting up. Stolen cars can carry trackers, every vehicle has fuel and engine health, and buses and trains run across Leonida.
Edge visited Rockstar North in Edinburgh a few weeks before launch. Rob Nelson, the studio’s co-head and a head of development, played the current build for about 90 minutes with no script. The 16-page feature is in Edge issue 430 (on sale October 29), and Edge’s sister site GamesRadar has published it free online. Everything below comes from that feature. We summarise it in our own words; read the original for the full story.
Jason and Lucia’s relationship
GTA 5 let you switch between three people who mostly looked out for themselves. GTA 6 still lets you switch between Jason and Lucia when the story allows, but the two share a past, and the game measures how close they are.
- A four-point closeness scale. It usually goes up the more time the couple spend together.
- Shared activities raise it. Edge’s examples: walks on the beach, cycling, working out at the gym (once they have bought a membership), or just driving around with one at the wheel and the other on their phone.
- You can’t split them up. You decide how close they are, but they stay partners in crime. Rockstar has said this before, and our Jason and Lucia guide has the background.
Not announced Whether Jason and Lucia can marry. Edge asked, and Nelson would neither confirm nor deny it.
The Criminal Profile
A separate system, the Criminal Profile, tracks what kind of criminals Jason and Lucia are, on a scale from “Professional” to “Irredeemable”, shown with angel and devil icons. Knocking someone out instead of killing them, or using threats before violence, pushes you towards the professional end; shooting first makes the profile violent. Rockstar told Edge the profile affects how the story plays out.
Police heat: what the cops know about you
This is the biggest change Edge describes. A heat system tracks what the police have learned about a crime, and icons at the top of the screen show it, like a live copy of the police report:
- your physical description
- whether you worked alone or with a partner
- what you were wearing
- whether CCTV caught you
- which weapon you had
Each item can be taken away. If witnesses saw two people, splitting up from your partner removes that detail. A change of clothes means you no longer match the description as closely. Dropping the weapon removes another clue. Escaping becomes a process of making yourself harder to recognise, not only waiting for stars to fade.
- Your descriptionChange clothes so you match it less closely
- Alone or with a partnerSplit up if witnesses saw two of you
- What you were wearingChange your outfit
- Caught on CCTVEdge doesn’t say how this clears
- The weapon you hadDrop it
People also react before the police are involved. Pedestrians notice a shotgun in your hands more than one slung on your back, and crowds may back away or challenge you. Edge says the game gives some leeway before that turns into a wanted level, and it pays attention to whether anyone actually saw what you did.
Stingers and police dogs
In one chase, Nelson fled a botched robbery on a stolen motorcycle with Lucia on the back. You can switch who controls the bike, letting one character drive while you shoot as the other. Police radioed ahead and laid a stinger strip that was hard to spot at night; the front tyre burst and both were thrown off. Then a K9 unit joined, and the police dog caught Jason and pinned him to the ground.
Analysis Our reading: plan an exit before a robbery. Ditch the outfit, drop the gun and split up if there were two of you. Running in a straight line on a fast bike at night may not be the safe choice it was in GTA 5.
Cars: theft, trackers, fuel and damage
- Drivers fight back. You don’t always have to drag someone out; some panic and run. Others are armed and will fight.
- Trackers. A newer, expensive car may have a tracker that keeps sending its location, and the owner of almost any car you steal may report it.
- Fuel and engine health. Every vehicle has a fuel gauge and an engine health readout. Edge says cars go a long way before running low, and filling up is quick.
- The WAINK app. It lists the car models fences want, with each car’s security and tracking. Higher-end cars ping their location to the police, so you have to lose the tail on the way to the drop-off. Part of your payment depends on the car’s condition when you deliver it.
- Scooter Bros. Call this phone app and someone brings your own car for a small fee, then rides off on a scooter. Your weapons are kept in its boot.
Analysis For a robbery, park your own getaway car nearby first. A random stolen car might have a tracker, an armed owner or an empty tank.
Getting around without a car
GTA 6 has fully working bus and train systems. Phil Hooker, a third head of development, told Edge he rides the buses across Leonida to check they turn up when expected, and has memorised the routes. Aaron Garbut, the studio’s other co-head, named taking the train for the day as one way to spend your time.
The world around you
- Map size: roughly twice GTA 5’s map. Rockstar says the total landmass is nearly as large as GTA 4, GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2’s playable maps put together. More in our map size guide.
- Narrower roads and longer days. Roads are narrower than GTA 5’s wide highways, which Nelson called “a more believable size”. The day and night cycle is much longer, so sunsets and nights last.
- Weather. Storms form and move with wind, humidity and season. Wind changes waves, boats get rocked in open water, and flying through a severe storm can lightly damage an aircraft.
- Interiors and people. Garbut said there are “an order of magnitude more interiors” than before. NPCs have about 600,000 animations and personality traits that decide how they react to you.
- Random encounters. In the demo, a group in a modified 4x4 pulled up and kept goading Nelson until he accepted a street race.
How the story is paced
You can still focus on the story, but there are breaks between missions. Sometimes Jason and Lucia need to raise cash before the next job, for example by holding up a gas station or jewellery store, or stealing a car a fence wants.
Our take
Analysis The heat system is the change most players will feel in their first hour. In GTA 5 you mostly hid until the stars went away. Going by Edge’s preview, GTA 6 asks what the witnesses saw, so your outfit, your partner and your choice of getaway car all matter. Our beginner tips and the list of confirmed features are good next reads.
Common questions
How many stars is the GTA 6 wanted level?
Our confirmed features list covers the wanted level and what other outlets reported from earlier previews. Edge’s feature focuses on the heat icons rather than the star count.
How big is the GTA 6 map?
Edge reports it is roughly twice the size of GTA 5’s. Our map size guide compares it with other Rockstar maps.
Who are Jason and Lucia?
They are the two playable leads, a couple who commit crimes together. See Jason Duval, Lucia Caminos and our Jason and Lucia guide.
Related pages
GTA 6 story explained
GTA 6 vs GTA 5: every confirmed difference
Your first hour in GTA 6
GTA 6 cars
GTA 6 weapons
