Seven GTA 6 mechanics hiding in the Extended Look

The Extended Look went by quickly, and a lot of systems flashed past in single frames. Here are the seven we'd want to know about, and how each one connects to the others.

Stealing cars takes tools

The footage shows a prompt offering a Slim Jim or just smashing the window. Quieter or faster, your call. More valuable cars are reported to need a key cloner on top.

On its own that's a small thing. It gets more interesting next to the wanted system, because a smashed window is evidence, and it's evidence that stays with the car.

The police track your face, your clothes and your car

The wanted display carries icons for your face, your clothes, your car, your weapon, your partner and CCTV. Lose one piece of evidence and the others still stand against you, so shaking the police turns into a cleanup job more than a hiding game.

That one change turns half the game's cosmetics into mechanics. Clothing stops being decoration. The car you took becomes a liability you're driving around in. Even a taped-up pistol becomes identifiable.

Your crimes build a profile

Jason and Lucia each carry their own Criminal Profile. Rockstar's been clear that it isn't a good versus evil meter. It tracks how you operate.

Giving each character their own profile is the interesting bit. It suggests the game keeps what Jason does and what Lucia does apart, so your choices don't all get pooled into one reputation.

The weapon wheel has limits

You can't carry everything any more. Larger weapons live in your vehicle and get pulled out when you need them, which quietly makes your car part of your loadout.

It also means that turning up somewhere without your car is turning up without your options. Leave the car behind and you've left the arsenal behind with it, so where you park becomes a decision.

Jason and Lucia's relationship has its own system

Texting, dates and time spent together are reported to shift how Jason and Lucia stand with each other. And the character switch interface puts a heart directly between them, in the spot where previous games put a skill bar.

Focus is GTA's Dead Eye

Activating Focus slows time and marks hit zones, red for lethal and yellow for limbs, so you can disarm somebody instead of killing them.

The separate limb marking is the bit we'd pay attention to. It means the shooting model cares where a round lands, and it means ending a fight without killing anyone is something the game supports on purpose, something you can plan for. It won't just happen by accident.

Store robberies are a full system

Three tiers of robbery are reported, and you'll be able to hold up stores across the map. Masks, evidence, witness descriptions and a getaway plan all feed into how it goes.

Six of the seven feed the police

Line them up and six of these seven feed the same loop. You pick how loudly you take the car, what you're wearing, what you're carrying, whether you shoot to kill and who sees you. Then the police put all that together into a case, and your profile records the shape of it.

Previous games had a wanted level. In this one, you're leaving traces.