In GTA 6 the police don’t know about a crime until someone reports it. In late August, Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson played GTA 6 for journalists and YouTube creators at the studio. Here is what they saw of the new wanted system, with who reported each detail.
No witness, no stars
A wanted level starts only when a pedestrian sees the crime, an alarm goes off or a camera records you (IGN, Famitsu). Officers then get the details of the report and head to the area. The hot area stays marked on the map after you leave, and the police keep searching there until it cools down (IGN).
Your face, your clothes, your car
Icons under the wanted stars show what the police know about you: your appearance, your clothes, your car. A new haircut removes the appearance icon, but the police still know your outfit, and glasses or a hat won’t fool them. You need a full change of clothes, which is why IGN suggests keeping a spare set in the car’s trunk.
A mask worn during the crime and taken off during the escape keeps your face out of the description, even if a camera caught you. Switching to another car cuts the heat too. If the police have no description at all, the stars appear as hollow outlines, and leaving calmly is enough to get away (IGN). Kinda Funny adds that you can take the camera footage from a store after robbing it.
Six stars and narrow streets
The six-star scale is back; GTA 5 had five. One star is meant to be easy to shake, and six is full chaos. From three stars up, escaping by car in the city is hard: streets are narrower and traffic is dense, so it can be smarter to run through alleys. Rockstar reworked running, jumping and climbing for this (IGN).
Esquire Australia and Flow Games report that the police no longer show on the radar during a chase.
Two fugitives
If the report says the suspects are a couple, Jason and Lucia can split up: one draws the police while the other slips away and texts once it’s safe (IGN). According to Flow Games, splitting up during a chase lowers the wanted level by one star. If one of them is busted or wasted, it ends for both, even if the other was still getting away (IGN, Esquire).
Not every encounter needs a gun
Aiming at someone without firing can make them run instead of starting a fight (IGN). According to the TGG channel, officers now give a verbal warning when you draw a weapon near them.
The criminal profile
The criminal profile is GTA 6’s take on the honor system from Red Dead Redemption 2, but without a clear right or wrong. It records patterns: needless violence and extra mayhem count, and so do small good deeds such as throwing away your own trash. Crimes you’re forced into on missions don’t necessarily shift it. A consistent style changes how people in the open world treat you and how the story plays out (IGN).
