Official Grand Theft Auto 6 coverage is starting to appear ahead of today’s Netflix ‘extended look’ premiere, and with it comes confirmation that eating and exercising and even going on “multi-day benders” can visibly affect the look of your characters.
The information comes from publication Dazed, which ran an interview-preview with Rockstar, and confirmed: “Food affects Jason and Lucia’s weight, while exercising visibly builds and tones their muscles. And, if you end up spending a long time away from your bed, on the run from police or on a multi-day bender, their features are going to pay the price for that as well.”
These systems hark back to 2004’s Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which filled its world with mini role-playing systems, including the ability to gain weight from eating lots of food, and go to the gym and lift weights and exercise to work it off – and muscle up. These systems were dropped for GTA 4 and GTA 5, though they’re present somewhat in Red Dead Redemption 2, which GTA 6 seems to take more than a few cues from.
As with Red Dead Redemption 2, GTA 6’s world is described as being “more grounded and reactive than before”. “Gone are the days when you could traverse the city like a god,” Dazed wrote. “Now, players’ actions have consequences.” If you walk along a street with a rifle, “the city will have something to say about it”.
Said Rockstar North‘s head of development and co-studio head: “We look back at our previous games with a critical eye and see where we want to evolve based on what we didn’t do as well as we would have liked to, either because we didn’t have the time, resources or technological capabilities, or in some cases things we just didn’t do as well or consider as fully as we could have.” To this end, Rockstar’s team has reportedly doubled since the release of Red Dead Redemption 2.
Those extra resources have resulted in more detail in GTA 6’s world than ever before, especially in NPCs you meet there. They are reportedly “far more varied” than in previous games, in body shapes and ages, as well as in height and how they present themselves, be it with cosmetic alterations, tattoos, piercings, or in the clothes they wear. We see some of this in the first official GTA 6 trailer, in a shot on the beach about 23 seconds in.
There’s an entire “fashion ecosystem” in the game according to Miami-based stylist Jillian Carr, who worked on the game. “Vice City is built around vanity,” Carr said. “Between social media, celebrity culture and a constant flow of tourists, appearances carry significant weight, and trend cycles turn over quickly.”
This detail continues into the city itself, to in-game musicians and a music scene, and in-game social media networks, and all of the wacky and satirical brands Rockstar creates for GTA games. Rockstar reportedly had a dedicated research team embedded in Miami during the game’s development.
It’s a world we’ve glimpsed in the “heartbreaking” GTA 6 video leaks over the past week or so, and that we’ll see in full – we hope – on Netflix later today. It’s a moment Rockstar designed to be loud and celebratory, though in the background, there’s dissent, as fired Rockstar North employees continue to fight for justice for alleged union-busting.
Grand Theft Auto 6 releases 19th November on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X.
