Character switching and the relationship

Grand Theft Auto V let you rotate between three men who mostly put up with each other. Grand Theft Auto 6 has two leads who are together, and the switching interface shows it: the character wheel in the footage puts a heart right between Jason and Lucia.

In GTA V the switch wheel was a utility. You picked whichever character was closest to the mission or had the right special ability. A heart in the middle suggests the relationship is something the game keeps score of, and that it's more than a story fact you're told about in cutscenes.

Texts, dates and time together

Texting, dates and time spent together were reported to shift where the two stand long before Rockstar said anything. In his IGN demo on 7 October, Rob Nelson of Rockstar North put part of that on the record: either lead can text or call the other at any time, and ignoring a message hurts the relationship a little. Inven Global's report of the interview adds pool, mini golf and kayaking as time together that helps. There's more detail on the phone and social media page.

A four-point scale

Edge's cover feature (29 October), written from a demo Rockstar ran for the magazine, gives the heart a shape. Edge reports a four-point scale for how close the two are. Walks on the beach, cycling, the gym (you buy a membership first), driving around Leonida and generally spending time together outside missions all push it up. When they're in a car together, one can drive while the other's on their phone.

Nelson told Edge the pair start out wanting to patch things up, and that where it goes from there is up to you: "it's yours to keep or yours to lose". There's a limit, though. Edge says the story keeps them together, so you can't walk away from the partnership or stop being criminals. What changes is how close they are. Nelson wouldn't confirm or deny whether they can get married.

The switch in the demo

The same demo showed how a switch fits in with the open world. Playing as Lucia, Nelson ran into a man living in a dumpster, an encounter RockstarINTEL describes as unplanned. She could give him pills or refuse, and when she comes back later he offers legal advice. Nelson then switched to Jason, who was in the shower. A choice in a chance meeting, then a cut to the other character's day: that's the rhythm the two-lead setup is built for.

Edge's demo added switching in the middle of a chase. Swap to whoever's in the passenger seat and the other character takes the wheel, driven by the AI. Edge also says switching is only available when the story allows it.

Missions use the other lead too, even when you aren't switching. In the Extended Look's penthouse job, Lucia texts Jason from the party upstairs while he creeps through the dark floors below, and the messages pop up on screen as he plays. We read every one at 4K.

Why two leads and not three

Three protagonists gave GTA V variety, but the game lost some closeness for it. You could leave Michael, Franklin or Trevor parked for hours. With two, both are always close to the story, and a partner mechanic becomes possible in a way it wasn't before. The partner's also a tracked item in the evidence system, so the other character can count against you as well as help you.

What isn't known

Edge says switching only opens up when the story allows it, but nobody's said how often that is in free roam, or how much of it is locked during missions. GTA V let you switch almost anywhere outside missions and used it as part of the structure inside them. Rockstar has said that how you treat the relationship bears on the story, and Edge says the pair stay together whatever you do. Nobody's said what each of the four points actually changes, how low the scale can go before the story reacts, or whether marriage is on the table.

Related: Criminal Profile.