‘Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look’ has now premiered on Netflix, and comes amid numerous gameplay leaks which Rockstar addressed earlier this week. The new 26 minute video gave us a big insight into how GTA 6 will play, and after watching, it now feels tantalisingly close to its November release – which comes after two separate delays from its originally planned 2025 release year.
Here’s what we’ve learnt from the new video:
Graphics
The in-game footage on this extended look has been ran on a standard PlayStation 5, rather than the PS5 Pro. Either way, it shows an impressive level of fidelity for a console release, and as you’d expect, it’s a significant step up from the nearly 13-year-old GTA 5. If GTA 6 is to come to PC in the future, that suggests the game will be a graphical masterpiece – but you’ll definitely want one of the best graphics cards to max those settings out.
The detail on car interiors is a massive step up from GTA 5, and the same goes for the interiors within playable buildings.
Mechanics
The Extended Look reveals a new interaction feature similar to Red Dead Redemption 2, letting you choose the line your character speaks to other people in the world.
Your player is also able to interact with more of the world itself, such as flicking light switches in buildings. That hints at the possibility of a more Hitman-like approach to working through some missions.
Combat-wise, the shooting looks like a polished iteration of GTA 5’s, with greater gun control, the notable addition of slow-motion killcams on headshots, and better ragdoll physics.
The wanted system has also been reworked. Below the familiar five-star display, an on-screen breakdown now shows the factors driving your heat level – including CCTV visibility, nearby enemy count, gun noise, and what you’re wearing.
Map
We also got a much better look at what it’ll look like on the ground in Vice City – interiors of buildings have a big step up in detail compared to Los Santos, while cars and pedestrians within the world sees a massive step up in volume.
We also got a much clearer look at what Vice City will actually feel like to walk through. Building interiors show a noticeable step up in detail compared to Los Santos, with furniture, lighting, and smaller architectural touches all visible. Outside, the world itself feels busier, with more vehicle traffic and pedestrians giving a far more alive feel than we saw in GTA 5.
Vehicles and Driving
There are two ways to break into a vehicle – either a slim jim, or the more GTA-classic move of smashing a window. Presumably, the former will attract less heat from the cops.
One of the first cars we see Jason and Lucia get into is an old 1980s German convertible – presumably Rockstar’s take on a classic BMW 3 Series. The wider car roster looks like a significant upgrade from GTA 5, with plenty of new models bringing Vice City up to date, alongside familiar names that have carried through the GTA universe for years – the Dinka Blista among them, spotted in the video. For the cars that have been carried across, there’s significantly more detail, both inside and out.
We can also see random events taking place on the road – such as a recovery truck blocking one of the lanes on the highway.
After evading the police, we see Lucia torch the car she was driving with a molotov cocktail – suggesting a mechanic in which you will attract more police if you don’t cover your tracks in your previous antics.
Racing also looks set to play a bigger part of GTA 6. The Extended Look shows a dedicated asphalt track and a dirt track, alongside a street race scene that looks right out of Rockstar’s dormant Midnight Club franchise. All of this could be particularly relevant for competitive play once GTA 6’s online mode arrives after launch.
What we still don’t know
A 26 minute reveal might seem like a long time, but it seems this reveal has only just scratched the surface of what we’ll see in November. There’s still no information on the true size of the map, and a release date for GTA Online, which is expected some time after launch, is still unknown. There was also little divulged of the storyline of GTA 6, though that’s great for not spoiling November time.
A 26-minute reveal might sound like a lot, but it feels like this reveal has only scratched the surface of what’s coming in November. The real size of the map remains unknown, and there’s still no word on when GTA 6’s online mode will follow. Story details were also kept thin, but that’s no bad thing if it means less gets spoiled before 19 November.
It’s now less than three months until the GTA 6 release date on November 19th, but on day one, it’ll only be releasing on PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X and S consoles, with preorder prices of $79.99 for the base game. Rockstar has remained tight-lipped on a PC release for GTA 6, with a port yet to even be confirmed, let alone a release window, and we saw no new information on a potential PC release in this latest reveal. It’s worth remembering that GTA 5 debuted on PC a lengthy 19 months after its initial PS3 and Xbox 360 launch. PC players could be in for a long wait, in that case.
Missed out on the extended trailer and don’t have a Netflix subscription? This extended preview is time exclusive to Netflix, and will go live on Rockstar’s YouTube channel just a few hours later, so keep an eye out there.