GTA 6 vs GTA 5: The Biggest Differences You Should Know

GTA 6 is launching more than 13 years after GTA 5 took the world by storm, and Rockstar is pushing the boundaries of what an open-world experience can be. This marks the biggest evolution in the GTA series yet, featuring a massive, highly detailed map and two brand-new protagonists. Naturally, it brings plenty of changes compared to GTA 5. That said, here are the biggest differences between GTA 6 and GTA 5, showcasing how far Rockstar has come in creating the ultimate open-world experience.

1. The Visuals

The first difference any player will notice between GTA 5 and GTA 6 is the visuals, or the graphics, as most would say. GTA 6’s photorealistic graphics massively improve on GTA 5’s now-dated 2013 visuals, which already looked pretty mind-blowing back in the day.

However, Rockstar says GTA 6’s art style isn’t totally realistic. Instead, it strikes a sweet spot between photorealism and a stylized look. The studio gives all GTA 6 characters like Jason, Lucia, and Raul an unmatched level of detail compared to GTA 5’s Michael, Trevor, and Franklin.

Even GTA 6’s NPCs feature different heights, body types, and animations, with more detail than GTA 5’s main characters, showing just how far Rockstar’s technology has come over the past decade. The game also appears to use ray tracing, including global illumination and reflections, to push its lighting and visuals further.

But all this visual fidelity comes at a cost: Rockstar has confirmed GTA 6 will be locked at 30 fps on all consoles, including the PS5 Pro. So players hoping for a higher frame rate or even 60 FPS in GTA 6 might be disappointed. Still, it’s a pretty fair trade-off when you consider just how stunning and detailed the game looks.

2. Dual Protagonists

Unlike GTA 5’s criminal trio, GTA 6 will focus on two main protagonists: Jason and Lucia. According to Rockstar’s official GTA 6 website, Jason grew up surrounded by grifters and crooks before joining the Army to leave his troubled past behind. He eventually ended up in the Keys working for local drug runners, but meeting Lucia could finally give him a reason to change course.

Rockstar describes him as someone who wants to escape the life of crime, but things keep getting harder. This is where Lucia comes into play. Lucia learned to fight from an early age and spent much of her life fighting to protect her family, a path that eventually landed her in Leonida Penitentiary. Now fresh out of prison, she’s determined to leave that life behind and change her odds, no matter the cost.

Meanwhile, GTA 5 threw Michael, Trevor, and Franklin into a chaotic mix: three ex-criminals pulled back into the life of crime by corruption, debt, and a whole lot of bad decisions. GTA 5 did balance three protagonists extremely well, with gameplay differences, personalities, and even different endings. But GTA 6 takes a more personal route, putting the spotlight on our dual protagonists, Jason and Lucia, and their journey.

There’s an interesting dynamic here. Jason and Lucia clearly love each other, but they want different things. Jason wants out of the criminal life, while Lucia is willing to take bigger risks to get the life she wants. Rockstar aims to keep Jason and Lucia’s deep relationship at the heart of GTA 6’s narrative and build the story around them, which is a first for the series.

Rockstar writer Alexa D’Agostino said they built Lucia in GTA 6 to stand alongside GTA icons like Arthur Morgan and Niko Bellic. That’s a lot to live up to, especially as GTA’s first female mainline protagonist, but Lucia already looks ready to make her mark, along with Jason.

3. Map Changes

To put it simply, the GTA 6 map for the State of Leonida is massive. It’s so huge that Rockstar has confirmed the GTA 6 map is 2x bigger than GTA 5 and 3x the size of Red Dead Redemption 2’s map. For most players, GTA 5’s San Andreas map with Los Santos and Blaine County felt massive, especially when you viewed the city from atop Mount Gordo and Mount Chiliad.

Speaking of Los Santos, the city streets felt big and never-ending, but here’s a fun fact: Rockstar has confirmed that GTA 6’s Vice City is twice the size of GTA 5’s Los Santos. Additionally, the cities and suburban areas are almost 11 times the size of what we saw in GTA 5.

GTA 5 had Los Santos and Blaine County as the main regions, with Sandy Shores, Grapeseed, and Paleto Bay spanning the countryside. Meanwhile, GTA 6 has Vice City, Port Gellhorn, Ambrosia, Grassrivers, Mount Kalaga National Park, and that’s only the regions we currently know of.

Think of it this way: GTA 5’s Los Santos dominated San Andreas, while GTA 6’s Vice City is a part of Leonida, meaning more regions to explore, more secrets to discover, and more areas to roam. Rockstar also confirmed that GTA 6 will have “a lot of” enterable buildings, a feature which was severely lacking in GTA 5.

Rounding up everything we know about the entire map, it’s clear that GTA 6’s Leonida map is Rockstar’s biggest and densest map yet, with incredible NPC variety, extreme detail, and interconnectivity across all regions.

4. Story

As we discussed earlier, GTA 6 takes a more personal approach to its narrative, with Jason and Lucia’s relationship at its center. Rockstar has confirmed that you can play as Jason or Lucia solo in GTA 6, but certain decisions will impact specific parts of the story. You can play with them as a couple or keep them strictly platonic; it’s your call. However, these decisions will certainly impact your playthrough.

As for the story, GTA 6 follows Jason and Lucia, two criminals whose lives become intertwined as they try to build a better life together in Leonida. After Lucia gets out of prison, the pair gets involved in a dangerous criminal conspiracy that spans the State of Leonida and pushes their trust and relationship to the limit.

Meanwhile, GTA 5 tells a more straightforward story about three criminals, Michael, Trevor, and Franklin, whose lives crash in Los Santos. Michael’s attempt to leave his criminal past behind falls apart, while Franklin sees crime as his ticket to a better life and Trevor brings his usual brand of chaos and psychopathy.

Their paths eventually intertwine, forcing the trio into a series of increasingly dangerous heists, betrayals, and schemes as they try to survive Los Santos and make one last big score. There are no relationships or decisions involved, except for the final mission, which lets you kill Michael or Trevor or pick a “Deathwish”.

However, GTA 6 is taking a more Red Dead Redemption 2-esque approach with both the story and the missions. Another major difference is that GTA 6 will require money to progress the story, and it’s a first for the series. So, if you’re low on in-game cash, you may hit a roadblock. It won’t be as simple as GTA 5’s straightforward mission structure.

5. Gameplay

Since GTA 5 gave us three protagonists while GTA 6 sticks with two, the gameplay will naturally feel pretty different in both games. Yes, both are open-world adventures with third-person shooting and role-playing elements, but GTA 6 takes those RPG elements a step further.

For starters, GTA 6 has a weight system that lets both Jason and Lucia lose or gain weight. Their appearances will change based on how much food they eat, what activities they do, and how much sleep they get. If either of them goes without sleep, they’ll start to look exhausted. It’s a neat new mechanic that wasn’t present in either GTA 5 or Red Dead Redemption 2.

Similarly, both Jason and Lucia can join you during a robbery or a heist, depending on who you’re playing with. You can switch between them whenever you want in the open world of Leonida. You can even take Jason and Lucia on dates in GTA 6 to maintain their relationship and keep it healthy.

Meanwhile, whether you were hitting the bar or the strip club with Michael, Trevor, or Franklin, their friendships stayed rock-solid after the ending if you picked the “Deathwish” option in GTA 5. You didn’t have to maintain it. This is where GTA 6 adds more depth to the role-playing elements.

However, GTA 5 and GTA 6 share certain similarities. Remember Michael, Trevor, and Franklin’s unique abilities? They’re returning in GTA 6, but we’ve only seen Jason’s Focus ability, which functions similarly to Arthur’s Dead Eye mechanic in RDR 2, in the GTA 6 Extended Look.

Given Jason’s army background, this fits perfectly. Meanwhile, from what we’ve seen of Lucia, she seems to be better at hand-to-hand combat. This gives both protagonists their own playstyles. That doesn’t mean one can’t do what the other can, but each is better suited to different things.

6. Length

GTA 5 is a meaty game, and it takes around 35-40 hours to complete the main story with a bit of exploration. According to Rockstar North co-head Rob Nelson, GTA 6 could take you roughly twice as long to complete. In an interview with The New York Times, he said his last GTA 6 playthrough took 80 hours, focused mostly on the main campaign, with some exploration.

If you’re going for a completionist run in GTA 5, you’ll likely spend over 100 hours on it. However, based on Nelson’s comments, a GTA 6 completionist run could easily surpass 150 or even 200 hours, depending on how much you explore, how often you tackle main missions, and how much time you spend on side activities.

So, hitting the 80-hour mark isn’t a stretch. We reckon most players will take their sweet time exploring Vice City and Leonida in GTA 6 on their first playthrough, making a 100-hour run almost guaranteed. The completionist also depends on how tough the GTA 6 trophies and achievements are. If GTA 5 and RDR 2 are anything to go by, they’ll be pretty tedious.

7. Mission Structure

GTA 5’s mission structure was mostly linear and scripted.  The heists were where Rockstar really gave you some freedom, letting you pick different approaches and choose your crew based on their skills and how much of the cut they demanded. Thankfully, Rockstar has taken the “restrictive mission design” criticisms to heart with GTA 6.

Rockstar North co-head Rob Nelson says GTA 6 gives more players to approach missions without sacrificing the experience. He cited the mission showcased in the GTA 6 Extended Look on Netflix, saying Jason and Lucia escape a tower block through multiple routes instead of forcing players down a single path.

Furthermore, a later mission puts Jason, Lucia, and Raul in a police chase with multiple escape routes. The game opens up these options once you control Lucia behind the wheel. This means you can either use the suggested route or make your own way through the police pursuit and escape.

Speaking of the mission structure, Rockstar previously confirmed that GTA 6 will use chapter-based progression, similar to RDR 2. GTA 5 had a mission-based progression structure, so Rockstar is ditching that in favor of a streamlined chapter system.

8. Police and Wanted System

GTA 5 had a 5-star Wanted Level System, and serviceable police AI that was fairly easy to escape, even at max Wanted Level. However, Rockstar is putting the “6” in GTA 6 with the 6-Star Wanted Level System, last seen way back in GTA 4 in 2008. That’s not all, as the police AI has also been significantly improved in the upcoming game.

Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson says GTA 6 will feature smarter police pursuits with cops remembering Jason and Lucia based on what they’re wearing, which vehicle they’re driving, what weapons they’re using, and whether they’re committing crimes together. CCTV cameras will also play a larger role, with cops using footage to identify suspects and track them down.

The police and Wanted System in GTA 6 are leaps and bounds over GTA 5, and much more realistic. In GTA 6, cops only come after you if an NPC witnesses the crime or if an alarm is triggered. GTA 5, on the other hand, immediately gives you a Wanted Level even if you commit a crime in the middle of nowhere.

Thankfully, GTA 6’s car trunk mechanic lets you change clothes and store weapons on the fly to avoid police detection. You can also wear masks and glasses to conceal Jason and Lucia’s faces, as you did with Arthur and John in RDR 2.

9. Weapons

Rockstar is also changing the weapon system in GTA 6 compared to GTA 5. You’ll still have a weapon wheel to choose from, but the selection will be extremely limited. GTA 6’s weapon system limits how many weapons and what weapon types Jason and Lucia can have at a time.

Rob Nelson said that Jason and Lucia can carry two concealed handguns and up to two long guns. However, one long gun has to stay on their back while they carry the second in their hands. So, it’s not like GTA 5, where you could pull out an RPG or a Railgun out of Franklin’s pockets like it was nothing.

The limited weapon wheel encourages players to choose a specific loadout for specific missions in GTA 6, hence giving them more control over their weapon choice. You’ll still access your consumables, weapons, and equipment from a single weapon wheel, but it’s more restricted now.

Furthermore, Rob Nelson confirmed that GTA 6 overhauls classic gunplay with auto-aim disabled by default, significantly more recoil, kickback, and a crisper sound design than what you’ve spent hours listening to in GTA 5. So, shooting will feel more realistic in Rockstar’s upcoming title.

If you check out our GTA 6 weapons list, you’ll see the game features tons of new weapons, from handguns and shotguns to new ARs, and you can expect all of them to feel and sound different when you’re using them in the open world.

10. Vehicles

GTA 6’s car lineup already looks pretty stacked, but the biggest change from GTA 5 is how you actually get your hands on those vehicles. In GTA 5, you can steal any vehicle you want as soon as you get access to the open world of San Andreas. You smash the window with either of the three characters, hotwire the car, and let it rip.

However, in GTA 6, you need to work your way through the campaign to get the right gear and unlock certain vehicles. You need tools like a Slim Jim or a Key Cloner to unlock parked cars. Different cars have different security measures, and you need the right tools to bypass them. So, you cannot steal parked cars as soon as you enter Leonida.

Rockstar is also adding a new in-game app called WAINK to scan parked cars. This app showcases a car’s value, how to unlock it, the cost to register it as a personal vehicle, and its security tier. Once you get the tools, you can unlock a parked car and jack it with a quick-time event (QTE).

11. Weather System

We recently discovered more about GTA 6’s weather systems thanks to Game Informer’s cover story. So far, Rockstar has confirmed four weather types:

• Hurricane
• Rainy
• Sunny
• Tropical Storms

GTA 5 had thunderstorms and heavy rain, but not a hurricane, so it’s a new weather type in GTA 6. Rockstar San Diego co-head Tom Shepherd explained how the weather system works in the upcoming game, saying, “We have re-engineered our weather system to make everything much more localized and persistent, and really wanted the world to feel dynamically solid and achieve a sense of scale we haven’t felt before.”

If you compare it to GTA 5, the weather system in GTA 6 is far more dynamic. In GTA 5, the weather followed a preset-driven system, cycling through different weather conditions such as clear skies, clouds, overcast, rain, thunderstorms, fog, and smog. However, they would generally apply to all parts of Los Santos, rather than having a localized weather system for each region.

GTA 6’s weather system counters this with fully dynamic cloud formations across Leonida. This means different parts of the map will have different weather systems. Based on the weather, hair and debris will react to the environment, along with water surfaces and grass.

12. Criminal Profile System

Remember how we could shoot every block in GTA 5’s Los Santos with all three protagonists and still escape the cops with some fancy driving? That’s changing with GTA 6’s Criminal Profile system, one of the biggest changes to the series and a major departure from how GTA 5 handled your criminal chaos.

The Criminal Profile defines what type of criminal Jason and Lucia will be in your GTA 6 playthrough: a professional or a walking time bomb? This lets you test new playstyles in GTA 6 with multiple ways to commit a crime.

For example, if you take a professional approach, avoid killing civilians, and escape without being detected, your Criminal Profile ranking will stay intact, indicated by an emoji popping up on the GTA 6 HUD on the right.

Meanwhile, if you rob a store, kill all nearby witnesses, and start a reckless goose chase across Vice City, your Criminal Profile ranking will raise. If you keep doing this, you’ll eventually reach a point of no return. The Criminal Profile will reach a Shattered or a Broken state, which becomes permanent for the rest of your playthrough.

Keep in mind that Jason and Lucia have their own Criminal Profiles, and shattering either will likely have consequences in their relationship and the story. It’s basically GTA 6’s version of RDR 2’s Honor System, except it’s not morality-based. It focuses on the type of criminal you are and how efficiently you complete missions.

13. In-Game Mobile

GTA 6’s in-game phone does more than you’d expect, unlike GTA 5’s, which was mostly there for accessing the internet, taking photos, using apps like the stock market, and calling or texting contacts.

You can now doomscroll through social media on the Snapmatic app, interact with the world, follow influencers, learn more about what’s happening across Leonida, and even call in Jason or Lucia for GTA 6 heists and open-world activities when you need them.

GTA 5’s in-game phone appeared as a small smartphone interface in the bottom-right corner of the screen, overlaying the gameplay. However, Jason and Lucia can physically pull out their phones, with the camera zooming in on the device instead of displaying it as a HUD menu.

Think about how the camera shifts when Arthur inspects or cleans his gun using Snake Oil in RDR 2. That’s how the phone will show in GTA 6. Additionally, the WAINK app on your in-game phone lets you scan vehicles and learn more about them, as we mentioned earlier.

The Ryde Me taxi app on the phone will also allow fast travel around Leonida. Unlike GTA 5’s Downtown Cab Co. mobile contact, GTA 6 will feature a dedicated taxi app for travelling purposes. So, the in-game phone will function like a real phone, making the world feel more immersive and lively.

14. Activities

Rockstar is expanding activities beyond what GTA 5 offered in GTA 6. For 2013, the previous open-world title had a plethora of activities, including races, scuba diving, hunting, Ammu-Nation shooting ranges, and more. Now, the studio is taking a step further with GTA 6’s activities by adding new ones never seen in a GTA game before. Here’s the list of all the activities we’ve spotted so far:

• Zoos
• Base Jumping
• Shooting Range
• Fishing
• Lifting Weights
• Basketball
• Tennis
• Dirt Bike Races
• Rally Races
• Kayaking
• Swimming
• Jet Skiing
• Sunbathing
• Hunting
• Airboating
• Amusement Parks
• Street Races
• DJ and Music
• Strip Clubs
• Mini Golfing
• Snooker
• Doomscrolling
• Playing Games
• Watching TV
• Cage Fighting
• Backyard Wrestling
• Eating & Drinking
• Robbing Stores
• Scuba Diving
• Electric Scooter Rides

Rockstar has also confirmed that GTA 6 will feature over 170 species, bringing 60+ bird types, 30+ land mammals, various fish, reptiles, etc. So, hunting and fishing will be major activities in the game. However, GTA 6’s fishing mechanic will work a bit differently from what we’ve seen in RDR 2.

You need to do these activities to maintain Jason and Lucia’s relationship in GTA 6 and blow off steam after moments of pure chaos throughout Leonida. Of course, this is only for the players who want to complete GTA 6 with Jason and Lucia as a couple. If you don’t do these activities together, their relationship will hang by a thread.

This is also a major difference between GTA 5 and GTA 6. In GTA 5, hanging out with Michael, Trevor, or Franklin, or doing activities together, didn’t affect their relationship, but GTA 6 will. So, these activities play a bigger role in Jason and Lucia’s bond than existing as something to do.

15. Game Engine

Both GTA 6 and GTA 5 use Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE), the studio’s proprietary engine, but different versions. GTA 5 uses a much older version of the engine, commonly identified as RAGE 7, while RDR 2 used RAGE 8.

So, Rockstar is likely using RAGE 9 for GTA 6, pushing the game’s visuals, world density, and overall detail far beyond GTA 5. Moreover, the engine is also enhancing GTA 6’s gore and dismemberment system, which Rockstar North co-head Rob Nelson says will allow you to dismember bodies and rip off limbs from all parts of a corpse.

However, the studio hasn’t revealed what version of the RAGE engine it’s using for GTA 6. This engine has powered Rockstar games since 2008, starting with GTA 4, and the latest version is likely built and optimized for current-gen console hardware like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

16. Online Mode

Rockstar has confirmed that GTA 6 won’t launch with Online and will be a single-player experience, similar to GTA 5. However, the big difference is that GTA Online launched two weeks later, on October 1, 2013, after GTA 5 was released on September 17, 2013. Meanwhile, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy says that GTA 6’s Online multiplayer will arrive in 2027.

Again, Rockstar hasn’t said anything about GTA Online 2, except for support for 32-player GTA 6 multiplayer lobbies, which was revealed in Rockstar’s employment tribunal case in September 2026. So, take any rumors with a pinch of salt. Considering how wildly successful GTA Online has been, GTA 6 getting its own multiplayer mode is a no-brainer.

Plus, previous Rockstar Games job listings hinted that GTA 6 wants to be the next Roblox and Fortnite, which could hint at the type of online mode the studio has in mind. Currently, GTA 6 is a single-player experience, and the question isn’t whether multiplayer is coming, but when.

17. Platforms

Everyone knows GTA 5 debuted on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on September 17, 2013, followed by the PC release on April 14, 2015. There’s nearly a two-year gap between the console and PC releases. On the other hand, GTA 6 launches exclusively on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 19, 2026, with no official Rockstar announcement of a PC version yet.

However, reports suggest GTA 6 could come to PC sooner, likely in 2027, thanks to rising console prices. So, PC players won’t have to wait a year and a half to play the open-world game. If anything, Rockstar should release the PC port by the end of next year rather than wait until 2028.

Another big difference between GTA 6 and GTA 5 is their release formats. GTA 5 launched with physical disc editions on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. The PC version even came packed with seven discs in the box, but unfortunately GTA 6 won’t have a physical disc. Instead, it will include a digital download code inside the game’s physical box.

That concludes our guide on the biggest differences between GTA 6 and GTA 5. Know of any other major differences? Tell us in the comments section below.