It’s literally the name of the game: Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto series is all about stealing cars. And the latest installment in the franchise, GTA 6, appears to be about to revolutionize one of the most exciting experiences players can have in a video game. What could be more fun than stealing a fabulously expensive car, speeding off, crashing into things, and then abandoning it on the side of the road in a ramshackle heap? Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look premiered on Netflix on August 27, but after watching it again for the second time, a lot of new details caught my eye. After the cold opening sequence with the drug deal gone bad, what’s the first thing we see? Jason stealing a car. It’s an orange-red American beater with a black vinyl top and appears to have a pedigree from the late ’70s or early ’80s. A message appears on the screen: one button to break the window, another to use a thin lever to lower the window slightly and release the lock, leaving the window intact. Jason chooses the latter, which takes a little more time and requires some precise inputs into the controller, but is less likely to draw attention. In GTA 5, stealing cars was a simpler affair: you walked up to a vehicle with someone in it and forced them out with the press of a button. You could also point your gun at them to force them to abandon the car, or open the window of a parked car with a well-placed elbow, but it was still a fairly simple process. That is no longer the case in GTA 6. According to IGN, the latest game in the series will introduce a tiered security system for stealing cars. Just like in real life, more expensive vehicles with upgraded technology will require specific skills and tools to steal. That means players will have to think more deeply about which cars to power up and when. This time, Jason and Lucia will have access to a device called a “straw scanner,” which will display information about a car’s security system and value. While we don’t yet know how many different types of theft protection there will be in GTA 6, we do know that some vehicles will have electronic keys, meaning you’ll have to clone those keys digitally. Other cars will have electronic monitoring devices that could alert authorities if you drop below a certain speed, meaning you’ll need to keep the pedal to the metal as much as possible. (I’m not sure if this is based on real-world technology, but incentivizing someone who has stolen a car to drive as fast as possible seems like a terrible idea!) What’s more, unlike previous GTA games, in GTA 6 you’ll be able to sell any car you’ve stolen. This game will have a stolen goods fence system that is more similar to 2018’s Red Dead Redemption 2. Who doesn’t appreciate a lucrative business? Image: Rockstar Games A particularly memorable scene from the Netflix preview saw Lucía discovering an influencer in the trunk of the car she had just stolen. In addition to adding depth to the basic elements of the robbery, this opens up the possibility of more scenarios where our protagonists find extravagant surprises in ill-gotten vehicles. Imagine the possibilities! A big briefcase full of drugs! A backseat full of birthday balloons! A sleeping stoner! Please, rock star. Let me steal a car that has an angry alligator at some point in GTA 6. I’ll even forgive the disappointing lack of a twerk button in the game. GTA 6 will launch for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X on November 19. Related Will we have a new GTA Online with GTA 6? It seems less and less likely. What will Rockstar do with its always-on sandbox in November?
