Grand Theft Auto 6’s gameplay was finally revealed officially during the game’s extended look showcase on Netflix on Thursday. In a 26-minute video that purely contained gameplay footage across the wide gamut things you can do in the game, Rockstar Games pulled the curtain back on GTA 6’s systems, many of which seem directly inspired by the studio’s last game, Red Dead Redemption 2.
The extended look trailer, captured on PS5 and now available on YouTube for all to see, presents a montage of experiences — missions, side activities, non-player character (NPC) interactions, car chases, and much more — that will be present in GTA 6. And all of it is rendered and presented in jaw-dropping, overwhelming detail.
Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look begins with Jason and Lucia walking up to a drug house to make a pickup. The multi-storied house is crawling with NPCs — gangsters, drug pushers, and other residents, all of whom come with an unbelievable amount of character detail. From hairstyles and body types to clothing and styling, each NPC stands out. According to a New York Times feature timed to drop following the Netflix premiere, Rockstar has given bespoke attention to each NPC in the game.
Jason and Lucia in GTA 6’s extended look
Photo Credit: Rockstar Games
As they make their way up through the floors of the house, you also see Jason pet a dog. Just like Red Dead Redemption 2, players will get an option to scold, pet, and study the animal. Positive and negative interaction options are available with NPCs, as well. This is perhaps the most direct influence of Red Dead Redemption 2 on Grand Theft Auto 6, except the latter is doing it at a far greater scale.
The drug pickup, which seems to be from a very early section of the game, goes wrong when a “task force” of corrupt cops storm the building and start shooting indiscriminately. Here’s where we first see the third-person shooting gameplay in GTA. We follow Jason as he takes cover and shoots back.
The shootout continues in a hallway as Jason and Lucia make their way through to the lift. The two noticeable things here: First, GTA 6 now has a slow-motion finisher — also like Red Dead Redemption 2 — when you land a headshot on an enemy. Secondly, unlike Red Dead Redemption 2, gore and violence are dialed down. There is no dismemberment or extreme bullet impact even if you shoot someone with a shotgun at close range. The shootout sequence also briefly introduces us to Mendez, a corrupt cop who seems to be one of the antagonists of the game.
Once Jason and Lucia make their way out, the scene switches and we get to see Jason stealing a car. There are two options to do this: you can either smash the window and do it the noisy way or unlock the door by sliding a slim jim down the window. For more modern cars in the game, you’ll have to clone the digital keys to gain access.
Then we get a look at Jason and Lucia’s apartment as they get ready to meet people for drinks at a rooftop bar. You can find a drink from the fridge or sit and watch TV — things we’ve seen in previous GTA titles.
Jason and Lucia then drive through a densely populated and incredibly detailed Vice City. We then see a brief montage of things you’ll be able to see and do on the streets of the city, including meeting weird characters, witness road rages, and eating things to replenish health. Lucia, who is a fighter in the game, has access to advanced hand-to-hand combat moves, and we see her taking on several people in an alley, dodging, blocking, and punching back. The hand-to-hand combat has gotten a major mechanical upgrade since Grand Theft Auto 5.
GTA 6 will also have a social media feed called Snapmatic, likely inspired by Snapchat. You will be able to scroll through the feed and see what your friends and contacts are up to.
Robberies get a big focus in GTA 6, too. We see a montage of Jason and Lucia robbing restaurants, stores, and other establishments with masks up to hide their identity. The mask can be accessed from the Item Wheel adjacent to the Weapon Wheel. The two protagonists also meet Raul Bautista, a seasoned bank robber who wants to hire them for a job. The three then get involved in a chaotic car chase as Lucia drives and Jason shoots at cops chasing them. The most notable thing here is the overhauled vehicle mechanics. When you shoot at the tires of a car, it goes out of control and flips over realistically.
The perspective then switches to Lucia as she drives through tight alleyways, trying to lose the cops chasing them. Later, she burns the vehicle to avoid getting traced by authorities. This seems to be a new mechanic in GTA 6. Cops can identify you via multiple parameters, including your vehicle, clothing, and your face. These are represented by markers on the game’s heads-up display, just under the wanted level.
We then get a glimpse of a few other side activities in GTA 6: boating, underwater diving, basketball, kayaking, car racing, dirt biking, base jumping, clubbing, and going to the gym. The character stats system from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas makes a return. According to the New York Times report, players will have to work out and eat to stay fit. Not going to the gym and having an irregular lifestyle could lead to Jason and Lucia gaining weight losing character stats.
You’ll have to work out to stay fit in GTA 6
Photo Credit: Rockstar Games
The final section of the extended showcase sees Jason and Lucia hired as the security detail of a prominent figure. The sequence ends with a shootout in a high-rise building as the two try to protect their client from people trying to get to him. We see Jason stalk the crew and take them out one by one in what seems like an homage to Die Hard.
The extended look ends with a cinematic sequence with a voiceover and music that shows Vice City’s vistas.
From what Rockstar has shown, Grand Theft Auto 6 seems to be bigger and more ambitious than anything the studio has done before. According to the NYT report, Vice City is twice the size of Los Santos in GTA 5 and the game’s world map is thrice the size of the total playable area in Red Dead Redemption 2.
Rockstar will surely share more details about the game, including its story and missions, in the lead up to its release. Grand Theft Auto 6 launches on PS5 and Xbox Series S/X on November 19.
