Gameplay: everything that changes
Every gameplay mechanic confirmed or spotted to date — inherited from GTA V, imported from Red Dead Redemption 2, or entirely new. Items marked ⚠ come from the September 2022 leak and are not officially confirmed.
Driving & vehicles
- FPS and TPS views while drivingModeled interiors: working gauges, dials and lighting
- Real-time mirrorsAccurate reflections, interactive pedals and steering wheel
- Car dealerships 2022 leakBuy vehicles in showrooms across the open world
- Rideable tramPublic transit in Vice City, hop on and off freely
- Deep customizationSeveral specialized shops, including 2 exclusive to the Ultimate Edition
- Property garages 2022 leakSome with an armory and stolen goods stash
Combat & arsenal
- RDR2-style weapon wheel 2022 leakSwitch between Weapons / Equipment / Gear with R1 or RB
- Limited inventory 2022 leakMax 2 rifles and 2 pistols on you, the rest in the trunk
- Dropping weapons 2022 leakYou can throw a weapon away, with dedicated pickup animations
- Hand switching 2022 leakShoot left- or right-handed at will
- Extended drive-bys 2022 leakShoot standing out of the window or from a pickup bed, assault rifles included
- Shooting while swimming 2022 leakUse your weapon in the water
- No dual wielding 2022 leakRDR2’s dual wielding isn’t coming back
- Reworked melee 2022 leakMore interactive hand-to-hand combat, zipties, human shields and carryable bodies
- Under-fire animations 2022 leakThe character takes cover differently depending on the weapon held
Police & wanted level
- 6-star wanted level 2022 leakThe return of the series’ maximum wanted level
- Realistic response times 2022 leakPolice no longer teleport: reaction time depends on location
- Surrender option 2022 leakAn option to give yourself up to law enforcement
- Concealed weapon 2022 leakJason and Lucia automatically holster their weapon in busy areas — NPCs react otherwise
World & immersion
- Ray tracing 2022 leakGlobal illumination and ray-traced reflections
- Extreme draw distanceDistant objects rendered in high quality
- Volumetric cloudsInherited from Red Dead Redemption 2
- Simulated interiors 2022 leakParallax mapping for believable interiors seen from outside
- Growing hair and beardThey grow over time, just like in RDR2
- Dynamic sweatVisible on characters under the Leonida sun
- Working watches 2022 leakThey display the actual in-game time
- Earbuds 2022 leakMusic while walking or at the gym
- Clothing physicsReacts to wind and movement, strand-by-strand hair
- Searchable containers 2022 leakCash, weapons or items inside
- Advanced customizationHairstyles, tattoos, and even Lucia’s makeup and nails
- Cinematic mode 2022 leakRDR2-style camera spotted in the debug tools
The sound of Leonida
V-Rock, the legendary Vice City metal station, is confirmed on the radio lineup. And the two trailers have already delivered five tracks that blew up on streaming.
Love Is A Long Road
Trailer 1 — the opening track of the GTA VI era
Hot Together
Trailer 2 — +182,000% Spotify streams after upload
Everybody Have Fun Tonight
Trailer 2
Child Support
Trailer 2 — the Haitian kompa of the Miami scene
Talkin’ to Myself Again
Trailer 2
V-Rock
The return of the 2002 Vice City metal station, confirmed
The RDR2 legacy, embraced
Limited inventory, weapon wheel, growing hair, sweat, volumetric clouds: Rockstar is visibly transposing the Red Dead Redemption 2 philosophy into a modern GTA. The studio promised to push “the limits of what an open-world game can be” — the mechanics above are the first tangible proof.
Sources: GTA Base “Features Guide”, IGN and PC Gamer trailer breakdowns, official Rockstar screenshots, and for items marked ⚠, the September 2022 development leak.