We recently reported on the GTA 6 gameplay leaks that rocked the gaming world. Since then, Rockstar has confirmed that those leaks are legitimate. While Rockstar is obviously disappointed by this entire situation (to say the least), their official statement on the matter indicates that this leak will not disrupt their current development timelines.
There is a lot to say about this situation, but Rockstar mentions one of the most important things we should all keep in mind. These leaks may be legitimate, but they represent early footage of an in-development version of GTA 6. Not only does that mean that it’s impossible to properly judge the final game at this time, but many of the things we “know” about the game today could change tomorrow. That obviously makes it difficult to judge GTA 6 based on these leaks alone. While some elements of the game appear to be set in stone at this point, the most we can responsibly do is talk about the creative direction that GTA 6 is trending in based on what we learned from these leaks. As we previously noted, we will also not be directly sharing that leaked footage for many obvious reasons.
However, one of the most interesting things we can gather from these leaks so far is the fact that several notable GTA 6 gameplay elements look a little closer to Red Dead Redemption 2 than GTA 5.
Some of GTA 6‘s RDR 2-like gameplay elements are obvious in the leaked footage. For instance, characters seem to interact with their environments a little more realistically than we’ve seen in some previous GTA games. Specifically, some fans have pointed out the fact that characters “bump” into environments similar to how characters interact with objects in RDR 2. There are significantly fewer pre-set animations for certain interactions, but it does seem that you are able to interact with a wider variety of objects in the game more dynamically than we’ve interacted with objects in previous GTA games.
GTA 6‘s weapon system is also shaping up to be fascinatingly similar to the one we saw in RDR 2. Not only does the game’s weapons/items wheel look closer to the one seen in RDR 2, but GTA 6‘s playable characters interact with those weapons in more organic ways. For instance, one clip shows a GTA 6 protagonist independently choosing to drop and pick up a weapon (which reacts to both actions fairly organically). In the past, GTA games have treated weapons on the ground (and items in your hands) as elaborate power-ups rather than independent items. What we see in the GTA 6 footage feels much closer to how RDR 2 handled item physics and interactions.
However, the most fascinating RDR 2 connection I’ve seen in GTA 6 so far happens during a leaked gameplay section that sees the GTA 6 protagonists work together to rob a diner. The way that the player characters interact with the staff/hostages is very similar to how robbery scenes play out in RDR 2. It really does seem like GTA 6 will allow you to perform far more robberies/heists, so it makes sense that Rockstar would utilize the more elaborate robbery mechanics seen in RDR 2.
Along those same lines, it also looks like GTA 6 will use a backpack/duffel bag system similar to the satchel system seen in RDR 2. While I doubt that GTA 6‘s version of that mechanic will be exactly the same (I don’t see the GTA 6 characters collecting pelts to trade), I do get the impression that the game will utilize some kind of limited player inventory system. Furthermore, it really does seem like the size of your bag might determine how much cash you can take during robberies as well as what equipment you can use during those same sequences. However, those suggestions are entirely speculative.
On top of all of that, the person who claims to have leaked that GTA 6 media in the first place recently suggested that GTA 6 will feature an “RDR 2 dialog system” and “RPG elements (food, fatigue, tiredness, hydration).” While I haven’t found obvious evidence of either of those features in any of the leaked GTA 6 clips, the other, more obvious ways that this early version of GTA 6 resembles RDR 2 lead me to believe that there might be something to those claims.
Personally, I suspect that GTA 6 will ultimately fall closer to the middle of GTA 5 and RDR 2 in terms of its gameplay and general design philosophies. I do think the game will feature a few of the more realistic design elements we saw in RDR 2, but we’ve also seen evidence of slightly more arcade-like or “over-the-top” action sequences in the GTA 6 footage. I imagine Rockstar wants to go for a “best of both worlds” approach, though it’s certainly a little interesting to see that GTA 6 looks closer to RDR 2 at this very early stage than some fans suspected it might.