Getting away from the law in Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) will take real strategy. According to an exclusive Edge magazine report, Rockstar Games has totally revamped the wanted system to make the police much tougher. Co-studio head Rob Nelson showed reporters a gameplay demo that put these new features on display.
Police in Leonida no longer rely on seeing you. Now they use CCTV cameras, vehicle trackers, and detailed civilian reports to track players down.
The biggest new threat from the police is a dedicated K9 unit, and in the Edge preview, a police Alsatian tackled the main character Jason after a failed robbery. If players don’t defend themselves against these dogs, they’ll likely end up in jail.
The risks go beyond just the police. Rockstar has totally changed how pedestrians behave, making Leonida’s citizens much less predictable. Some bystanders will run away during a shootout, but others might try to be heroes and go after the main characters. Players will need to keep an eye out for bold civilians who want to get involved.
Once players get away from the action, they’ll notice how detailed the world is. Development lead Phil Hooker worked hard to create a public transit system that really works. Buses and trains run on set schedules that players can count on; hence, taking a bus is a calm way to see the new weather system in action, with clouds changing in real time based on humidity, wind, and the season.
This huge digital world was made possible by strong trust within the company. Nelson said that experienced teams had a lot of freedom while making the game. Rather than waiting for orders from above, each department knew how to improve their own part of the gameplay.
Hooker said this teamwork let developers see the finished game and feel proud that it matched their vision, and that this way of working together helped Rockstar create a very realistic version of Leonida.
