On August 26, Dazed magazine exclusively published an interview about GTA VI featuring multiple Rockstar developers. Foreign media outlet PC Gamer summarized the details of this interview, including the complex relationship between Jason and Lucia, as well as how other characters react if the player pulls out a gun and walks around. Perhaps the most exciting news from the interview is that players can go to the gym to build muscle or eat fast food to gain weight.
1. Exercise and Diet
Both Jason and Lucia's bodies will react and change based on player behavior and diet. If characters eat too much, they will gain weight. Conversely, if they exercise, they can lose some weight and increase muscle definition. In the second officially released GTA VI trailer, we can see Jason working out, likely building muscle.
The interview also mentioned that if players lack sleep, evade police chases for extended periods, or "party for several days in a row," Jason and Lucia's appearances and body shapes will change accordingly. This sounds like an upgraded version of a similar system in Red Dead Redemption 2.
In Red Dead Redemption 2, if players don't shave for a long time, bruises remain on their bodies and beards grow longer. Since GTA: San Andreas in 2004, the GTA series has not featured such significant changes to the protagonist's body shape.
2. Character Switching
GTA VI handles multiple playable characters differently than GTA V. Dazed magazine's preview notes that players can "choose to play as a couple or act separately to cause chaos." They described a scenario where players can control Jason driving on the highway, then switch to Lucia sitting in the passenger seat, "browsing the in-game phone."
This sounds like GTA VI will have a dynamic "couple mode" for players to roam the open world—fitting its theme of telling a love story—but missions themselves may be completed solo or cooperatively by both characters.
3. Rockstar's Team Size
According to Dazed, Rockstar has significantly expanded its team and resources to strive for perfection in GTA VI. The studio's size has more than doubled since Red Dead Redemption 2. They have established an office in Los Angeles specifically responsible for pedestrian NPCs in the open world. Additionally, they invited over 50 real-world street artists to assist in designing murals for the Wynwood outdoor art district in Miami within GTA VI, and even have a team of real race car drivers responsible for simulating vehicle physics.
4. Expect to See Various Florida Men
According to Dazed: "Players will encounter virtual versions of 'Florida Men,' a cultural archetype famous in real life for taming alligators, causing drunken disturbances, and stealing cars, which has now become an internet meme."
5. Music
Regarding the music in GTA VI, Senior Vice President of Narrative Rupert Humphries told Dazed magazine: "We love Miami music, especially Miami Bass, and younger Miami artists like Kodak Black and Sexyy Red. We are also very interested in Miami's hip-hop culture, from house parties in Overtown to clubs like Booby Trap on the River, and upscale venues in South Beach (where a bottle of wine costs thousands of dollars). We need people who can take us through these different worlds."
6. Jason and Lucia's Backgrounds
The trailer shows that Jason is a veteran and a drug dealer. Lucia appears to be an amateur boxer who has just been released from prison.
7. Choices
Dazed believes that players' choices or actions will affect Jason and Lucia's relationship in a way that is "more profound than Rockstar's previous works or the 'Honor' system."