Grand Theft Auto VI introduces several major adjustments to the series' classic gameplay framework: evading the police is more challenging, combat is more thrilling, and the narrative style is more mature and profound. But perhaps the most core change is this: for the first time in the nearly 30-year history of the series named after auto theft, hijacking vehicles has become a matter of skill and fun.
Yesterday, the new GTA VI trailer launched on Netflix, and various gaming media outlets and content creators simultaneously released preview content—they had early access to the game last month and engaged in discussions with the Rockstar team. Almost all preview reports mentioned that Rockstar invested significant time and effort into deeply expanding and iterating on the car theft gameplay. In previous GTA titles, players could simply walk up to a parked vehicle and press a button to get in, with at most an animation showing them breaking the window or picking the lock, making the whole process very simple. But in GTA VI, stealing cars is far from being that easy.
"We've added a layered unlocking mechanism to vehicles," said Rob Nelson, Development Director at Rockstar North, in an interview with IGN.
"Previously, players could just press the triangle button to hotwire and steal any car they wanted, driving off immediately. We felt this design wasted a lot of gameplay potential and didn't leave room for player growth or decision-making. So in the new game, at the start, some parked vehicles cannot be entered; you must progress the story to a certain point and acquire the corresponding tools to unlock them."
Nelson also mentioned this in an interview with The Gaming Gorilla, a GTA-focused YouTuber, explaining that stealing different types of vehicles requires different tools. As shown in Thursday's gameplay trailer, Jason and Lucia can use a "Slim Jim" lockout tool to pick the lock and steal a car, but this only works on older models. Even if you break the window of a newer vehicle and climb in, you may not be able to hotwire it and drive away.
"Hotwiring itself doesn't require extra tools," Nelson told TGG. "But not every vehicle can be started by hotwiring. Some models require a key cloning device to start. You can smash the window and get in, but without a key cloner, you won't be able to start the engine."
Of course, this is still GTA, and Nelson made it clear that even in the early game, players can rush up to a luxury car waiting at a red light, pull the driver out, and drive away without needing a key cloner or any tools. However, such vehicles likely have built-in trackers, allowing the police to trace your location, so you'll still need to deal with that risk. Moreover, stolen cars don't become permanently yours right away; you need to register the vehicle and park it in your limited-capacity garage to make it a personal vehicle you can call upon anytime; otherwise, the car will disappear upon restarting the game.
In another preview article published by IGN, Nelson also introduced that players can use an app called Waink on their phone to scan vehicles and obtain detailed information.
"For example, Waink will tell me if a car is locked, has an alarm system, or lacks a tracker," Nelson explained while demonstrating the game for IGN. "It also shows how much you can sell the car for at a paint-and-mod shop or a dedicated chop shop, as well as the cost of registering it. For instance, one car might require a key cloner, while another can be opened with just a slim jim. We've added many interesting gadgets and mechanics to add depth to what used to be a simple, black-and-white operation."
Nelson added, "I think this gives each vehicle more presence, requiring players to be more attentive and strategic when stealing cars."
I completely agree. It has always been strange that the Grand Theft Auto series, named for its core selling point of car theft, never made the process of stealing cars interesting, exciting, or challenging. As Nelson said, stealing a car used to be a "binary operation": press a button, play an animation, and the car is yours. But in GTA VI, car theft becomes something that requires planning and tests your skills. Perhaps old, beat-up cars are still easy to steal, but high-end vehicles require more steps. And the sense of accomplishment from successfully stealing a top-tier supercar will be far greater than in any previous entry in the series.