GTA 6 needs better "behavioral sophistication" from its NPCs
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In a new move for a series that has traditionally let players treat its world like a playground, GTA 6's NPCs will organically react to Lucia and Jason if they have their guns withdrawn. Rockstar North's joint boss and development lead Rob Nelson has explained the change was made because GTA 5's approach no longer works with 2026's tech.
As we saw briefly in the GTA 6: An Extended Look showcase, some of the world's inhabitants will walk away cautiously if they spot you with a handgun gripped tight. Police might even antagonize you for swinging a rifle around, too. It's a big change from past Rockstar open-worlds, GTA 5 included, which let you run about with a rocket launcher, no problem.
Speaking to TGG about why the change was made, Nelson gave a quite frank answer, explaining that the GTA 5 way might look jarring considering how believable the rest of GTA 6's word is. "We don't feel that works any longer at this resolution with the behavioral sophistication we need from our population now," he says. "In GTA 5, you can pull out a shotgun from nowhere in front of people and they don't react. That doesn't work here."
It's not just NPC reactions that are different. Gone are the days of Grand Theft Auto protagonists hiding military-grade weapons out of sight and in their pockets. "You can always have two concealed handguns on you whenever you want," Nelson explains. "You can carry two long guns and they will be visible on your back and in your hand. You can't put both on your back. One goes in your off hand [and] one on your back if you want to carry two. People will react to you if you are rolling around like that."
Nelson adds that "NPCs are more nuanced than before, so if you just have a long gun on your back, you should be fine. If you've got one in your hand, people don't like it and they react and start moving away from you."
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Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.
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