Home » Everything New Revealed About GTA 6 Today From Romance to Backyard Wrestling
GTA 6

Everything New Revealed About GTA 6 Today From Romance to Backyard Wrestling

Jike Eric
August 27, 2026 4:53 pm
Everything New Revealed About GTA 6 Today From Romance to Backyard Wrestling
Image: Netflix/Rockstar

New GTA 6 Gameplay Details have finally shown how much Rockstar is putting into Leonida. Today’s Extended Look and a separate gameplay preview revealed everything from Jason and Lucia’s optional romance to racing, workouts, robberies, scuba diving, smarter police and even backyard wrestling.

IGN also saw around 30 minutes of GTA 6 at Rockstar North and shared 69 new details from the game. Put everything together, and GTA 6 looks less like a bigger GTA 5 and more like a world where players can spend hours doing things that have nothing to do with the main story.

Jason and Lucia’s Relationship Actually Matters

Jason and Lucia stay at the center of GTA 6, but Rockstar will let players decide how close they become. The two can spend time together outside missions, and those moments can make their relationship stronger. Players can call or text the other character and ask them to meet up. They can go shopping, visit salons, work out, explore Leonida or even commit robberies together.

The game also notices when players ignore the other person. Jason or Lucia can send normal messages about coming home late or going to bed, and ignoring those messages can hurt their relationship.

Rockstar has added smaller details too. Jason and Lucia can hold hands while walking, hold doors open for each other and spend normal time together away from crime. The romantic side remains optional. Players who do not care about romance can focus on missions and the criminal story, while those who want a closer relationship can spend more time building it.

Character switching also returns from GTA 5. Players can move between Jason and Lucia while exploring, although some missions may temporarily keep them on one character.

The system gets more interesting when both characters travel together. One can drive while the player controls the other from the passenger seat, which becomes especially useful during police chases when one person can focus on shooting.

That makes Jason and Lucia feel much more connected than GTA 5’s three protagonists. They do not simply meet when a mission starts. They live together, react to each other and continue their own lives when the player switches away.

GTA 6 Has a Huge List of Things to Do

Rockstar also revealed a surprising number of activities around Leonida. Racing gets a proper showing, including full track races with lap counters and several cars fighting for position. Players can also take part in basketball, kayaking, scuba diving, parachute jumping, airboat rides and other activities around the map.

Gyms return too. Jason and Lucia can work out, and exercise can change their bodies while increasing their strength. Weight can change as well. Eating restores health, but eating too much can make the characters gain weight, bringing back an idea that longtime fans may remember from GTA: San Andreas.

Players can also change their appearance through barbers and salons. Different stores can offer different clothes and hairstyles, giving people more reason to explore instead of buying everything from one place.

Nightclubs play a big role in Vice City, while shopping, social media and other normal activities fill the time between missions. Players can scroll through posts on their phone and follow different accounts across Rockstar’s fake social network. So yes, GTA 6 lets you stop playing GTA 6 to doomscroll inside GTA 6.

Rockstar appears to want these activities to feel connected to the world instead of sitting inside a separate minigame menu. A normal drive around Leonida could lead to racing, a random event or something strange happening on the side of the road.

That approach should give players plenty to do even after they ignore the main story for hours.

You Can Pet Dogs and Study Wildlife

Animals also play a bigger role this time. Players can pet dogs, and Rockstar even gives them the option to scold one. The footage also shows much more wildlife across Leonida, which makes sense for a state inspired heavily by Florida.

Players can study animals and build a list of species they discover. The system sounds similar to Red Dead Redemption 2, where exploring the world and finding wildlife became its own side activity. GTA 6 also includes a zoo, giving players another place to see and study animals.

Rockstar has not said that Jason or Lucia can own a pet, so that should not be treated as confirmed. What we do know is that players can interact with dogs and take part in a wider animal-discovery system. It may sound like a small detail next to bank robberies and six-star police chases, but features like this can make Leonida feel much more alive.

Backyard Wrestling Is Somehow Part of GTA 6 Too

One of the strangest things shown today was backyard wrestling. The Extended Look shows people fighting inside an outdoor ring while a crowd watches. It feels exactly like the type of strange Florida-style event Rockstar would put somewhere in Leonida.

We still do not know if Jason or Lucia can enter the ring themselves. Rockstar has not confirmed backyard wrestling as a full playable minigame, so the scene could be a random event, side activity or simply something happening around the player. Either way, its existence tells us plenty about Rockstar’s open-world design.

The studio does not want every interesting moment to begin with a mission icon. Sometimes players may find something strange simply because they took a different road or stopped to see what a crowd was watching. That could make exploring GTA 6 more rewarding than driving straight from one mission marker to another.

GTA 6 Shows Much More of Life Inside Buildings

Rockstar also showed far more interiors than we normally saw in GTA 5. The footage includes homes, shops, clubs, offices and other indoor areas. Robberies can take players through buildings with several entrances and possible escape routes.

That does not confirm the popular claim that hundreds of buildings will open freely. Rockstar has never given an official number, and an interior appearing during a mission does not automatically mean players can walk into it whenever they want. Still, GTA 6 clearly places more focus on what happens indoors.

Safehouses also look more alive. Other characters can visit Jason and Lucia rather than their home working only as a place to save the game or change clothes. Personal vehicles become useful spaces too. Players can store weapons and spare outfits inside trunks, which connects directly with several other systems in the game.

Police Can Remember Your Face, Clothes and Car

The wanted system may become one of GTA 6’s biggest changes. Police do not always instantly know who committed a crime. Someone may need to see what happened, report it or trigger an alarm before officers begin searching.

Once police gather information, they can learn details about Jason or Lucia. That includes their face, clothing and vehicle. Changing those things can make it harder for officers to track the player.

Masks can help stop witnesses or cameras from getting a clear look. If police already know what clothes you wear, changing your full outfit becomes useful. That explains why Rockstar lets players keep spare clothes inside car trunks.

Police can also identify a getaway vehicle. Switching cars becomes another way to make their information less useful. Jason and Lucia can even split up during a chase. One character can run in another direction while the player draws police attention, and the other person may later send a message saying they escaped.

The classic six-star wanted level also returns. All of this makes police chases sound much deeper than simply driving fast until the stars disappear. Players may need to think about witnesses, clothes, cars and escape routes before they lose the police.

Stealing Cars Finally Takes More Work

Car theft also gets a major upgrade. Older vehicles may only need simple tools, while expensive modern cars can have stronger security systems. Some high-end vehicles may stay out of reach until Jason and Lucia get better equipment.

Players can use a phone app to scan cars and learn more about them. The information can include value, security, alarms and tracking systems. Stolen vehicles can then go to buyers for money, but their condition matters. Destroy half the car while escaping and the player will make less money from the sale.

Some cars can also become personal vehicles. Normal carjacking still exists, of course. If someone sits behind the wheel, players can still remove them in the traditional GTA way. The difference is that stealing an empty expensive car now sounds more like an actual job instead of pressing one button and driving away.

Robberies Give Players More Choices

Rockstar also wants crime to connect more closely with the game’s economy. Jason and Lucia can rob businesses and take part in larger jobs, either alone or together. Doing crimes as a couple can even help their relationship.

Different approaches can affect the reward. Players may choose a fast and violent way to open something, but that could damage what sits inside. Taking more time can protect the reward, but it also gives police longer to respond.

Buildings may offer several ways out, so players can think about the escape before starting the robbery. Money also appears to matter more during the main story. Rockstar can require players to raise cash before certain events move forward, giving robberies and stolen cars a real reason to exist outside pure fun. That makes side crime feel more connected to Jason and Lucia’s life rather than something separate from the story.

The Map Looks Huge, but Ignore Exact Size Claims for Now

The size of Leonida has become another major talking point. Posts online claim GTA 6 is around twice the size of GTA 5 and even several times larger than Red Dead Redemption 2. Players should treat those numbers as community estimates, not official Rockstar measurements.

Rockstar has not given an exact map size. During the gameplay preview, the studio simply described the world as very big. The new footage shows Vice City, beaches, smaller towns, islands, swamp areas and much more outside the main city.

That variety may matter more than a simple number. A huge map means little if most of it feels empty. Rockstar appears to be filling Leonida with activities, businesses, wildlife, NPCs and random events instead of only making the distance between missions longer.

The pause-screen map also uses detailed satellite-style imagery, giving players a much clearer look at the world than the simpler road maps in older GTA games. So the exact “2x GTA 5” number still needs proof. What Rockstar showed today makes one thing clear anyway: Leonida is massive.

One Rockstar Playthrough Took Around 80 Hours

GTA 6 may also take a long time to finish. Rockstar’s Rob Nelson reportedly said his latest playthrough lasted around 80 hours, including the main story and some optional content.

That does not mean Rockstar has announced an 80-hour campaign. Different players will finish at different speeds, and anyone who spends hours racing, exploring, shopping, diving or doing robberies could push their total playtime much higher.

Still, the number gives us some idea of GTA 6’s scale. When a developer who already knows the game can spend around 80 hours playing through the story and optional content, GTA 6 clearly has plenty waiting outside its main missions. That number also makes more sense after seeing how many activities Rockstar has packed into Leonida.

GTA 6 Is Starting to Look Like Rockstar’s Biggest Sandbox Yet

The most interesting thing about today’s reveals is not one single feature. It is how everything connects. Working out changes the characters. Clothes help during police searches. Car trunks hold spare outfits and weapons. Robberies earn money. Doing crimes together can improve Jason and Lucia’s relationship.

Players can race, dive underwater, pet dogs, study wildlife, visit clubs, work out, go shopping, steal cars, rob businesses, watch backyard wrestling and spend time with Jason or Lucia. Then they can ignore all of that and start a six-star police chase through Vice City.

GTA has always sold players the idea of freedom. After everything Rockstar revealed today, GTA 6 looks like the studio is pushing that freedom further than it ever has before.

FacebookX

About the author

View All Posts

Jike Eric

Jike Eric has completed his degree program in Chemical Engineering and has since developed a strong interest in digital media and online journalism. He covers the latest gaming news, including major industry updates, new game releases, developer announcements, and emerging trends across the gaming world.

Add Comment

Click here to post a comment