GTA 6: IGN's 69 new gameplay details from Rockstar North — the full breakdown
The visit
Days after "An Extended Look" aired on Netflix, IGN France returned from Rockstar North with a 69-point list of new gameplay details. Co-studio head Rob Nelson played an extended sequence of the game for the outlet and walked them through a rebuilt Vice City — and much of what he showed had never been described in detail before (IGN France).
A Vice City that lives on its own
Homes have been redesigned around Red Dead Redemption 2's camps rather than GTA's traditional safehouses: other characters come and go, and at least one of the bases shown belongs to someone other than Jason and Lucia. You can cut your hair or trim your beard at home, though new cuts still require a barber (IGN France).
The phone is now a physical object: when Jason or Lucia reach for it, the camera zooms in on their hand instead of opening a corner-of-the-screen menu — a presentation trick borrowed from RDR2's gun-cleaning scenes. Snapmatic returns but works one way: because the couple are fugitives trying to avoid a digital footprint, players can browse, follow and read posts but cannot publish their own (IGN France). Fast travel runs through a taxi app called "Ryde Me," and sharing a ride lets you hold real conversations with passengers. A new "Focus" system highlights points of interest in the environment, and the animal study list from RDR2 returns — down to petting dogs (IGN France).
The return of six stars
The wanted system is back to six stars — GTA V stopped at five — and it is built around information. Police need a witness or an alarm before a crime is reported, then track your appearance and your outfit as separate HUD icons. A new hairstyle clears the face icon; glasses or a hat will not. Only a full change of clothes works, which is exactly why the game encourages stashing spares in your car's trunk. Masks can stop a description from ever reaching the police, and abandoning a flagged vehicle is a legitimate tactic (IGN France).
Encounters can also end without shots fired: aiming a weapon at an NPC is enough to make some flee, and a new emphasis on non-lethal takedowns lets you shoot a limb or disarm an enemy rather than kill them. When the pair gets separated mid-chase, splitting up can shake the heat (IGN France).
Money, heists and the WAINK app
Money is more central to the story than in any previous GTA: some story missions require you to raise capital first, through car theft, store robberies and bank heists. Heists come with trade-offs — explosives crack a vault fast but damage the loot, while hunting for the combination pays more as the police close in. Stolen goods are sold to fences, including one who deals in cars and can tip you off about an impound lot (IGN France).
Car theft itself has been rebuilt: the WAINK app scans a parked car's value, lock and alarm status, and any tracker. Cheap old cars open with a "Slim Jim" tool, while modern high-end models need key-cloning devices — some only unlocked later in the story. Some vehicles carry GPS trackers that alert the police if you drive too slowly, forcing you to speed up or abandon the ride (IGN France).
Story and choices
The narrative now includes choices: minor ones accumulate into bigger consequences, major ones change things immediately — designed, IGN reports, to encourage replays. Lucia's ankle monitor plays a significant role in how the couple is brought together, and Rockstar says a stronger bond could surface hidden secrets. Satire, meanwhile, deliberately avoids current politics and memes so the writing ages well (IGN France).
GTA 6 launches November 19, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.