According to GamesRadar, Rockstar revealed that GTA VI features over 600,000 NPC animations. By comparison, GTA V had approximately 55,000, and Red Dead Redemption 2 had around 300,000.
Rockstar aims to make the game world feel more realistic and reduce repetitive behaviors among NPCs across different scenarios. For instance, crowds on the streets and residents on the beach will behave differently, with each NPC reacting according to their own personality. When threatened, some NPCs may even return fire.
To complete this NPC system, Rockstar dedicated an entire office in Los Angeles to the task. Reports also indicate that NPCs in the game are not generated en masse through algorithms but are individually shaped by developers.
Rockstar illustrated the differences between the two generations using the example of items dropped by NPCs. In GTA V, NPCs might ignore items after putting them down or dropping them; in GTA VI, NPCs will remember such situations and act accordingly.
Aaron Garbut, co-studio head at Rockstar North, stated that NPCs encountered by players truly exist within the game world. The development team considers details such as who is sitting in a room, what they are drinking, and what traces are left on the table.
Photos on the walls of rooms may also correspond to the NPCs within, displaying their tattoos and families. According to Aaron Garbut, even an ordinary room in a building within a massive city has its characters, furnishings, and imagery carefully crafted and arranged.