GTA 6 Extended Look guide: how to read the six systems

GTA 6 is Rockstar’s open-world crime game, and this page reorganises the official footage into a module-by-module index. The Extended Look carries a lot of information, but its structure is straightforward: everything lands in six systems. Read it that way and the scattered numbers and memes stop pulling you off course.

1. World and map

The map is roughly twice GTA 5’s and three times Red Dead Redemption 2’s playable area, with Vice City alone about twice Los Santos; surrounding regions such as Ambrosia, Grassrivers and Port Gellhorn still take up most of the landmass. Exploration uses GTA 5’s fog-of-war system, so detail only appears once you travel there. There are many enterable interiors and highly interactive safehouses, and some side activities have no map icon, so you have to find them.

2. Characters and relationships

Jason and Lucia each have health, stamina and focus. Focus is new: slow-motion shooting, first-shot accuracy, and weak-point and interactable highlighting. The story runs around 80 hours, meaning the main story plus optional goals with narrative consequences, and some chapters are gated behind cash targets. The romance is optional but affects what you can do — see Extended Look details.

3. Combat and weapons

Auto-lock is removed in favour of standard aim assist, shoulder switching and RDR2-style crouching anywhere return, and cinematic slow-motion kills and upgraded melee are in. Weapons can be customised with stocks, grips, sights and decals. Storage changes completely: weapons live in trunks and duffel bags, and long guns are visible on your body and change NPC reactions. See the confirmed gameplay features list.

4. Economy and robbery

Robbery becomes a major open-world event: jewellery stores, banks, payday loans, armoured vans and impounds are all targets. There is a real trade-off — explosives open a safe or vault faster but can damage the loot, while taking your time pays more but gives police longer to respond. Loot splits into clean and dirty money, and dirty money has to go to a fence. The full route is in stealth robbery.

5. Wanted and pursuit

Six stars return, alongside three star states (white for active pursuit, red for pursuit without identification, hollow for a reported but unidentified crime). Heat icons sit outside the star system and record face, clothing, vehicle, CCTV, weapon and partner information; hot regions and police knowledge persist after you escape. That makes destroying information more important than raw speed — see the wanted and heat system.

6. Vehicles and quality of life

Every vehicle has storage sized to the model, and you can hide bodies, loot, spare clothes and weapons inside. Car theft has three approaches — smash, key cloner and slim jim — and high-end cars may carry trackers that need a garage to remove. The Waink app scans value, registration cost, lock state and tracker status. Driving is heavier, roads are narrower, traffic is denser, and high-speed crashes trigger slow-motion crash cams that can total the car. Fuel and EV charging return but are said to be low-friction, Pay ‘n’ Spray returns, RideMe replaces taxis, and the minimap is only shown while driving by default. See the car theft system.

How to tell whether a claim is credible

1. Official footage or a direct quote: treat as confirmed — six stars returning, auto-lock removal, the new weapon storage rules.
2. Only in an invited creator’s summary: treat as reported — interior counts, some phone apps, the VIN laundering process.
3. A number with no source: do not use it in a conclusion — per-star police loadouts, alarm countdowns, oxygen limits.

This wiki labels all three groups separately, which is why a single article can use different wording. That is evidence strength, not vagueness.

FAQ

Is the Extended Look a full gameplay demo?

No. It is an edited slice of in-game footage, paired with longer hands-off sessions that press watched at Rockstar North. Retail behaviour can differ.

Why do different outlets spell the same thing differently?

The vehicle scanner appears as WAINK, Wank and Waink. Treat official footage and IGN’s original wording as authoritative, and ignore community-invented expansions.

Can I use this to write a walkthrough now?

You can use it to plan expectations and learning order, but not to publish buttons, values or mission order — those need the retail game.

Sources

• The No-Nonsense Guide To The GTA6: Extended Look (Jetro)
• Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look — Rockstar Newswire
• GTA 6 Preview: Our Exclusive Look at Rockstar’s New Open World — IGN
• GTA 6 Map Size Compared to Other Rockstar Games — IGN
• Video published 2026-09-05; checked 2026-09-15.