Six For Six
GTA VI is shaping up to be a generational defining piece of media, with an unparalleled level of detail, depth and attention poured into it - as we've come to expect from Rockstar over the years. This has caused speculation about game mechanics and features to run rampant, with fans pondering about what new features and mechanics would be introduced to evolve the Grand Theft Auto franchise to new levels. While we at GTABase -unfortunately- don't have any inside information about the features coming in this unprecedented game, we certainly have our ideas on what we'd like to see!
Here, I want to discuss six dynamic and detailed features I want to see in GTA VI. I'll explain a little about each feature, how I think they could work in a way which would both evolve the game mechanically whilst remaining fun, and why I think they'd be great, and realistic with current technology available - so buckle up and see how much you agree that these could help make VI a truly next-level experience!
I. Randomly Spawning Road Works
While none of us enjoy the inconvenience of having to take a detour due to end-of-quarter roadworks in the real world, it would certainly be a welcome feature in GTA VI. The roadworks in previous GTA titles were static, locked to certain locations and under construction 24/7 - simply unrealistic, and a little boring after you've seen them the first few times. Having a dynamic, random-encounter based roadwork system which have something like a 1 in 500 chance of spawning on each road would help us as players get out of the same routine of driving from point A to point B, allowing us to explore other paths less travelled, and open up the game to more replayability.
Escaping cops, or even chasing down another player in the Online mode, and having that pursuit broken up by a burst sewer pipe or road markings being repainted would throw a perfect spanner in the works for the player, encouraging on-the-spot thinking and improvisation with every plan. The chaos keeps every encounter fresh, and I think that's beautiful.
There's plenty of variety for roadworks too, these could be small teams working on drains, or complete repaving jobs utilising parallax textures to create an illusion of depth on the road - though knowing Rockstar, they'd likely want to implement legitimate height differences for any dug-up holes. I don't know how realistic that is for them - I'm not a game dev - but I do know hiding from another player in a four foot hole as they take sniper shots at me would certainly feel like a fresh change from the PVP combat of GTA V's Online mode.
II. Fuel (But Not Realistically!)
Let's be real, whether or not GTA should introduce a fully-fledged petrol (Or gas, if you're Americanly-inclined) mechanic has been a hot topic for as long as some of us can remember. While undoubtedly it would add another level of realism and pre-planning to Grand Theft Auto VI, having a car stop dead as it runs out of fuel would become more of an annoyance than a fun and engaging mechanic. The easy option is to make this a toggleable feature, but Rockstar have never really been known for toggleable mechanics like this; after all, it's GTA - not Fallout survival mode.
If Rockstar Games were to add a fuel mechanic to VI, and have it be both fun and mechanically interesting, it should work like the hunger for both players and horses in Red Dead Redemption II. While running low and starving will not kill the player - it will give them worse performance and stats. Having an empty fuel tank should not completely strand a car, but it should perhaps impact speed, acceleration and handling. Visually, this could also be represented with darker smoke pouring from the car's exhaust.
On the contrary, having a full tank should increase the car's performance and efficiency, with a trade off of the car having a larger explosion should it be blown up. Perhaps special premium fuels could also increase the performance or fuel efficiency further.
This would also add a further layer of mechanics and consideration to the player's choice in preferred car, where Electric cars would consume no fuel but always have the same consistent stats, or hybrid cars could represent the best of both worlds with less fuel consumption and performance loss.
This feature would tie perfectly in with the rumoured mechanics of the player's personal vehicle functioning as a miniature hub like the horses in RDR2, with all of your weapons and gear stored in the trunk. Caring for your car with special fuel, keeping it clean, and adding extra modifications would make it feel truly special and like another character in the story.
III. Semi-Realistic Vegetation Burning
This is a feature where we would need to temper some expectations. We're not going to get full-on out of control wildfires with collapsing trees and scorched Earth, but having leaves fade away from branches and grass looking charred for some time after a fire has spread moderately out of control would help really sell the destruction of the game, and emphasise the impact of the player's violence upon the world.
It's not a major feature, and there's not a huge amount to say about it - but it would really just add to the overall chaos of the game perfectly. Imagine having completed a huge gunfight out in a forest, where a rogue Molotov Cocktail has singed half of the terrain around you - blocking off paths, ammo, and perhaps even blowing up a few vehicles. Putting a spotlight on the player's destructive capabilities with this subtle feature would hammer in the power fantasy of bringing an RPG to a pistol fight.
IV. NPCs having Street Parties, Barbecues, and other Culture
With Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar really nailed the routines and lives of the citizens of each settlement across the frontier. We want to see them take that one step further, where daily life can be interrupted by special occasions. Stumbling across a family barbecue, a block party, a custom car meet, et cetera would really give the citizens of Leonida a bucket-load of extra personality - and perhaps make some players think twice before starting on another murder spree.
Each neighbourhood could have different styles and themes of events varied by their local cultures, economic state, and geographical location on the map, adding to the level of variety of locations in Leonida, and really highlighting their unique personalities and vibes. On top of this, allowing players to even partake in some of these events from as simple as grabbing a beer, to joining in with an illicit street race would really allow each of us to feel a sense of comradery with different areas, and build a bond with our truly favourite places on the map.
Ensuring this variety would give Leonida a rich and varied culture, where no two places would feel the same, and keep the game feeling truly fresh for years to come. Players would be finding different and new aspects of the game each time they entered an area they hadn't spent much time in before - especially if they'd been diverted there via the aforementioned roadworks.
V. Reactive and Dynamic Social Media
Grand Theft Auto VI launches in May 2026 (pending no further delays), a far cry from the online culture of GTA V's 2013 - a lot has changed, most of which we saw during the pandemic in the early 2020s where we were all stuck inside and had nothing better to do. Social media consumes every part of our lives, it's become integral to the news, politics, shopping, pop culture, communication, everything. For an accurate parody of modern society, Rockstar simply cannot ignore this. That's why perhaps out of all of the features on this list, a reactive and dynamic representation of social media may be one of the most important aspects of GTA VI - we've already seen hints of this with the "We have TikTok at home" parody clips in the reveal trailer so there's a solid sign this should be in the game. But how would it work?
First of all, it has to reference story events like Bleeter and the news websites did in Grand Theft Auto V. Any time something crazy happens somewhere in real life, it lights up every social media platform like a Christmas Tree with posts from everyone and their dog (Literally, people have accounts for their pets. Including me) having something to say about it. Not only is this an important feature for immersion, but it helps make the player's actions feel important and recognised within the world - and can further showcase the consequences of what the player does on a scale which would transcend the story of GTA VI while providing an array of emotions, though mostly amusement with Rockstar's keen eye for comedy.
But building on top of this, GTA VI's social media should also be used to inform the player of the world around them. It could alert us to limited-time sales at the ingame stores across the state, adding a mechanical layer to ingame shopping and player customisation for any tight-fisted penny-pinching fans who want to make their bank account more closely resemble a phone number. Looking back at previous sections of this article, it could even be triggered by proximity to the roadworks and cultural events I suggested - with random citizen's accounts talking about having a big neighbourhood feast, or official government sources announcing temporary road closures. Interlinking these features would help really make them all feel like moving parts in a connected and living world.
Talking about this reminds me of a concept article I wrote for GTA Online back in 2022 - The Network, which was an idea about players running their own entire social media platform. While Jason and Lucia won't be buying Bleetr (Or whatever random letter of the alphabet Rockstar has renamed it to) any time soon - the ideas I had about the player having their own profile where certain things could boost or harm their reputation would also fit nicely within this feature. The player being shouted at on the street for being "cancelled" after a rampage could certainly add more opportunity for funny dialogue from Rockstar, and help ground the protagonists within the world they inhabit.
As a side note to this feature, I mentioned earlier how the Coronavirus Pandemic heavily influenced how we interact with social media, and our culture as a whole. This makes me wonder if Rockstar will reference to a recently passed parody event which would've had the same lockdown effect on society which caused the universe's population to head down the path it's now on, like ours - or if they'll just pretend it was a natural evolution from where we were previously. GTA Online's timeline and canon is... dubious at best, but it never made any mention of such events as they were transpiring, so it'll be up to GTA VI to confirm how the GTA universe has truly been between entries (And just in general, what in GTA Online actually happened)
VI. Cop Overhaul: Proportionate and Reactive Wanted Levels
The police in GTA Online are certainly trigger happy to say the least, and they're only mildly more tame in GTA V with lethal force being authorised at a mere two-stars for some pretty minor crimes - and a third star already bringing in a helicopter unit to pursue the player. We think this needs to be reworked, with less lethal pursuits for misdemeanours and smaller crimes within the first two stars, having the fuzz trying to arrest the player before lethal force is authorised at a third star. Passing these two levels would be easy, but it means crimes like accidentally bumping a police car or criminal damage won't lead to Jason and Lucia being unfairly gunned down.
After achieving the third star, we could return to more classic systems with increasing force through helicopters, NOOSE and eventually the military joining in with fourth, fifth and sixth stars - but this should not be an easy feat. Achieving a six-star wanted level should take a solid time investment and a warzone level of carnage in tow - and have a strong resistance from the ingame police and military to the point where players could be awarded achievements or trophies for surviving and escaping them.
When escaping the police, they should send out full search parties and canine units which are willing to explore tunnels and off-road areas, which would make escaping a wanted level feel more like an active effort than an attempt to find the nearest sewer or hill like we have currently in GTA Online. Stealthy players could be rewarded for swiftly dispatching cops with silenced and melee weapons, by not having their location telegraphed to nearby patrol units so long as the officers can't reach their radio or fire their weapon in time.
Much like the wildfires earlier, there isn't much to say about this feature which hasn't already been said - but the cops in GTA V felt quick to aggression and easy to escape due to their road-only pathing. It's an important feature which would make the gameplay more challenging, dynamic, and honestly - infinitely less boring.
