How to Switch Between Jason and Lucia in GTA VI

You switch between Jason and Lucia whenever the story allows it. Rob Nelson, co-head of Rockstar North, has explained that some missions let you swap as often as you like, some lock you to one of them, and some make you switch at a set point. Away from missions, Dazed reports after interviewing Rockstar, you can play them as a couple or send one off on their own.

Not announced Rockstar hasn’t named the button. In An Extended Look, Rockstar’s gameplay video, TechRadar said switching took a single button press. We’ll add the exact button for PS5 and Xbox on launch day, November 19.

The three kinds of mission

Nelson described the rules to the Japanese magazine Famitsu, in an interview translated by GamesRadar. Every mission falls into one of three types:

1. Free switching

Some missions let you swap between the two as much as you want. Nelson’s example is the shootout at the end of An Extended Look, where the pair are under attack and you can alternate between them freely.

2. Locked to one character

Some sections keep you as one person because Rockstar wants you to see it from their side. Nelson’s example: an early mission in a high-rise apartment block used to allow free switching, but the team locked it to Jason. He has a military background, so Rockstar felt it would be odd for Lucia to lead and give the instructions that early in the story.

3. A forced switch

Some missions swap you at a set point. In the bank robbery getaway from the gameplay video, you start as Jason shooting at police from the car while Lucia drives. Partway through, you switch to Lucia at the wheel while Jason and the bank robber Raul shoot from the back seat.

Analysis So if switching does nothing in a mission, you haven’t done anything wrong. That mission is probably locked, and the game will hand you the other character when the story needs it.

Switching in a car or on a bike

Both previews show switching in the middle of a chase:

Car chases. Dazed, which interviewed Rockstar before An Extended Look, said you can take the wheel one moment and shoot at pursuers from the passenger window the next.
Motorcycles. In Edge’s preview (free on GamesRadar), Nelson fled a robbery on a stolen motorcycle with Lucia on the back. He switched to her to shoot at police cars, and the game took over the riding. Nelson joked that “It’s AI, but the good, old-fashioned sort”.

Analysis Use it to pick the job you’re better at. If you shoot better than you drive, let the game drive and take the gun.

Switching outside missions

According to Dazed’s interview with Rockstar, covered by TechRadar, you can play as a couple or go off and cause chaos as one of them. When they’re together, for example with Jason driving and Lucia on her phone in the passenger seat, you can swap seamlessly. You can also explore and do missions with each of them on their own.

Not announced Rockstar hasn’t said what the other character does while you’re away from them, or whether you can switch to them from anywhere on the map.

What a switch looks like

TechRadar timed the swap at the end of An Extended Look: Lucia BASE jumps from a skyscraper, then the player switches to Jason. There’s a flash, the camera rises into the sky, pans across Vice City, and drops into a building where Jason is. It took a couple of seconds on a standard PS5.

How it compares with GTA 5

GTA 5 had three leads, Michael, Franklin and Trevor. Edge says GTA 6 works the same way in one respect: you switch whenever the story allows. Nelson used GTA 5 as the example when explaining why some GTA 6 sections are locked.

	GTA 5	GTA 6
Playable leads	Three	Two, Jason and Lucia
Switching	When the story allows	When the story allows: free, locked or forced
How the leads relate	Mostly out for themselves, says Edge	A couple, with a closeness score

GamesRadar’s look back at GTA 5 names Three’s Company as the first mission that lets you swap between all three, and notes each lead had his own special ability. Not announced Rockstar hasn’t said whether Jason and Lucia have special abilities. The footage only shows Jason using a focus meter to slow time while aiming.

Splitting up to lose the police

Switching matters when you’re wanted. Edge reports that GTA 6’s police track what witnesses saw, including whether you worked alone or with a partner. If they saw two people, splitting up removes that detail. GamesRadar’s guide to the wanted system adds its own reading of the footage: if either character is caught while you’re split up, you still get busted, so you can’t sacrifice one to save the other. Our Edge preview explainer has more on the heat system.

Tips once you’re playing

Analysis Our advice until we’ve played it ourselves:

Try switching early in each mission. If nothing happens, the mission is locked and the game will switch for you later.
Let the game drive in chases when you need to shoot, and swap back once you’re clear.
Spend time together between jobs. Edge says the couple’s closeness rises with things like beach walks, cycling and driving around together, and Rockstar North’s Rob Nelson has said the relationship shapes how their story plays out.
Split up when the police know there are two of you, then regroup somewhere quiet.

Common questions

Is there a third playable character?

Not announced Rockstar only presents Jason and Lucia as playable. GTA 5 had three leads; GTA 6 has two. Our Jason and Lucia guide has their backgrounds.

Do Jason and Lucia have separate weapons?

Yes, going by the gameplay video. TechRadar noted that each has their own weapon wheel.

Can Jason and Lucia break up?

No. Rob Nelson told IGN, as GamesRadar reported, that they “will remain partners in crime” whether they are romantically close or not. How much you nurture the relationship does affect how their story plays out. Edge’s preview explains the closeness scale.

Sources

All 7 links

GamesRadar+1 2 3 4 5
TechRadar1 2

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