A pickup goes sideways. Police show up at the apartment building, Jason and Lucia trade fire with them, and then they run. That’s one of the sequences in the new extended gameplay preview for Grand Theft Auto VI, and it’s the clearest look yet at how Rockstar Games wants its next open-world crime game to move.
The footage premiered on Netflix. It digs into protagonists Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos, their criminal work, the character-switching mechanic, and a pile of activities players will be able to try when GTA 6 launches on November 19.
Jason and Lucia are the center of everything here. Players can switch between the two. Jason is described as an ex-military drug runner. Lucia is a fighter who’s recently been released from prison, and their relationship and criminal activities form the foundation of the game’s Bonnie and Clyde-inspired story.
The two sequences worth watching twice
The extended look features what appears to be a single sequence involving Jason and Lucia at an apartment building. The routine pickup goes wrong once police arrive, and the pair are forced into a shootout before they escape.
The other sequence puts the protagonists on security detail for a wealthy client at a party. It goes bad fast. Armed kidnappers attack, and another firefight follows.
Both give you a closer read on how cinematic Rockstar is going with missions this time.
That little icon nobody has explained
The preview also reveals a possible morality or honor mechanic. A small icon appears during gameplay, suggesting the game could track the behavior of Jason and Lucia.
Note the hedging, because it’s earned. Rockstar has yet to explain exactly how the system will affect the characters or the wider game. Everything about it right now is read off the footage, not confirmed by the studio.
Races, dives and one very long fall
The extended footage highlights several racing activities: dirt-bike races, drag racing, and competitions on dedicated tracks.
Players can also scuba dive and base jump. One sequence shows Lucia parachuting from a skyscraper over Vice City.
And then there’s the boring stuff, which is the good stuff
Everyday activities are part of the experience too. Jason is shown eating. Lucia exercises with weights.
The footage also features drinking, opening refrigerators and smoking cigars. Small things. But small things are where Rockstar games tend to live.
What the preview adds up to
Character switching, robberies, racing, exploration, expanded interactions. Put together, GTA 6 appears to be building on Rockstar’s previous open-world systems while introducing several new gameplay elements.
Keep the categories straight as more of this circulates. The November 19 launch date and the two protagonists come from Rockstar. The morality icon is a thing people spotted in footage, and it stays unconfirmed until the studio says otherwise.
Until then, the image that sticks is Lucia stepping off a skyscraper over Vice City with a parachute on her back.
