Whilst Grand Theft Auto 6 hasn’t been officially announced by Rockstar Games, there are very strong rumors out there that a brand new game is in development for PC and next-generation consoles PS5 and Xbox Series X.
We know very little, if anything, about the new game, and we likely won’t know for some time, as historically Grand Theft Auto development cycles have lasted years, across a number of international studios before anything solid is even announced to players. In the meanwhile though, we can excitedly dream about what we’d like to see in a new GTA game.
Below you’ll find seven things we’d love to see in Grand Theft Auto 6, regardless of what year the game is set, or where in the world it takes place. We think you’ll agree with some of our suggestions here, as they’d greatly improve the franchise!
Playable gangs and factions
The best thing about Grand Theft Auto San Andreas was gang warfare (and we won’t hear anything else)… It’s all good and well working as a lone criminal, but there was something extra special about roaming around the mean streets of San Andreas with our Grove Street family.
The ability to form a gang of fellow gangbangers and head out into enemy territory for a shootout over the area was seriously fun. San Andreas had no fewer than eight different gangs (including the Ballas, Los Santos Vagos, and Varrios Los Aztecas), the power struggle was real.
We’d love GTA 6 to give us the ability to form our own gang from scratch or be part of an established gang, mafia, or organized crime group from the start of the single-player campaign so that we can go out there and face off against our enemies and dominate the streets.
The ability to install mods when playing on console
There are just a tiny handful of iconic console games out there that actually allow players to install and enable mods to enhance their gameplay, these are namely Fallout 4 and Skyrim. The ability to play modded gameplay in GTA 6 would be fun and would ensure real chaos.
The one thing the PC version of GTA 5 has taught us is that no matter how old a game is, it can be revitalized by the ability to modify gameplay. Some of the most popular mods available allow players to take part in home invasions, become Iron Man and fly around Los Santos or even participate in a zombie apocalypse.
If Rockstar allowed console players to install mods and join specially created online servers that catered for them, then perhaps the insanely popular roleplaying servers that have popped up on the PC version of the game in the last year would become a popular thing for console users.
Licensed vehicles
It’s all good and well zipping around the city in a Turismo R, Banshee, or Faggio, but wouldn’t be even cooler if you could drive a real-life car or motorcycle such as an iconic Ferrari 812, McLaren Senna, or Suzuki GSX.
Certain cars and manufacturers have die-hard fan bases, and introducing these cars into Grand Theft Auto 6 would give millions of players the opportunity to drive these cars with no limits whatsoever. Potentially, the closest most will ever get to driving one of these special vehicles.
Of course, there are plenty of racing sims out there such as Forza, Assetto Corsa, Project Cars, and Grand Turismo that do let players drive these cars, however, do they allow players to drive them down the main boulevard of a busy city or off the edge of a mountain? We think not.
More in-depth RPG mechanics
Grand Theft Auto does have some RPG elements, such as the ability to change your hairstyle and clothing in the single-player campaign, or have your own safe house when playing online… However, we want so much more! We want unlimited customization and freedoms to improve our skills the longer we play the game.
We’d love to see certain elements of our gameplay improve as we undertake certain tasks… For example, if we only use sniper rifles then our stability when looking down the scope would improve over time, or if we spent more time driving high-speed motorcycles our handling of motorcycles would become better over time.
Even if this was just implemented in GTA online we’d be incredibly happy! Imagine building a squad with your friends where each and every one of you had a defined role based on your individual skillset. It’d seriously enhance gameplay in our opinion.
The return of Inside Track shops
One of our favorite things about playing Grand Theft Auto was doing things completely unrelated to actually playing the main storyline such as dancing in nightclubs, taking part in the Lowrider Challenge, and our favorite… Betting on horse races in Inside Track.
For those that genuinely don’t know, Inside Track was a chain of interactive betting shops that were dotted around San Andreas. Players could go inside and bet on a horse race that featured five different horses. It was pretty simple but insanely fun!
Amazingly, Inside Track betting shops never returned to any later Grand Theft Auto games until Rockstar unveiled the Diamond Casino and Resort in July 2019, six whole years after the game was released to the public. Even then, Inside Track was only integrated as a small part of the casino and not as individual betting shops.
Custom radio stations
We might be pushing our luck here, and we understand it’s easier said than done… But how good would it be if we could listen to custom radio stations whilst driving around?
Don’t get us wrong, the music and radio stations in Grand Theft Auto are fantastic and there are always some great songs on the playlist, but they do get repetitive after you’ve been playing the game for a certain amount of time…
We know this is doable with a bit of know-how when playing GTA 5 on PC, but we want to see it on console as well, allowing us to directly connect our Spotify accounts or enter in a custom URL to an internet radio station so we can listen to our favorite songs. Saints Row did something somewhat similar years ago on console, so why not GTA today?
A working player-driven economy
Plenty of games (particularly MMOs such as EVE Online, Old School Runescape, and World of Warcraft) have incorporated a working player-driven economy that sees the price of goods shift up and down depending on whether or not there’s actually a real demand for them.
Whilst some players might argue against making certain items harder to obtain, the vast majority of us would readily admit that games are much more fun to play when there’s a clear goal in mind, and working hard to raise the funds for a certain item is incredibly satisfying.
A working player-driven economy would work fantastically on certain servers on GTA online where players prefer realism, there’s more longevity in playing on a server in which you have to work for your rewards, rather than being thrown into a game in which all 30 players are wielding rocket launchers and assault rifles whilst driving a Grotti Itali RSX.
It might not be for everybody, but it certainly would add a touch of realism into a game that is admittedly all about losing yourself in an absolutely insane fantasy.
