GTA 6: What New Features Should Rockstar Include?

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There have been a lot of reports about GTA 6 this week, with many fans of the genre wondering if Rockstar is beginning to work on the next generation title. For the time being, it certainly seems that the software house is primarily focusing on developing the GTA 5 online experience, but attention will turn to the next cab off the GTA rank in the near future.

Benzies departs

It is possible that we may have longer to wait for this game than is ideal, following the departure of developer Leslie Benzies from Rockstar recently. This has led to some suggestions that the game could be delayed until 2020; hardly an attractive proposition for GTA fanatics.

However, the good news about a longer development timeframe is that Rockstar could include many of the features that fans have demanded, and really deliver something innovative with the next GTA title. Several new aspects have been suggested with regard to the most popular video game series in the world when the next title appears, so here are a few possible suggestions for this simply massive video game.

GTA 6 – Improved cop AI

A perennial complaint about GTA 6 is that the police are overpowered and unrealistic. Actually escaping them when they get up to the higher wanted levels can be extremely challenging, and sometimes the behaviour of the cops in Los Santos defies all logic. Of course, no-one would like to see absolute realism in the GTA series; one might recall one particular PC gangster title in which it was possible to be arrested for running through a red light! But an improved police service that behaves somewhat realistically would certainly be an improvement to the title.

One particular suggestion related to GTA 6 is that non-player characters could call the police when they witnessed a particular criminal activity. This was indeed showcased to a certain extent in the Watch Dogs title that perhaps disappointed somewhat on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One a couple of years back. No doubt Rockstar will have been playing close attention to this title that was intended to be a similar sandbox-style experience, and it could be that we see elements of hacking that were included in that game incorporated into GTA 6 as well.

More interiors

Undoubtedly, GTA 5 delivered in many areas, but perhaps the department in which it most disappointed was the inability to enter many buildings. Even the Clucking Bell and Burger Shot restaurants that were part of the city in GTA: San Andreas could not be entered in GTA 5. Pretty externals are all very well and good, but the GTA universe is all about exploration, and Rockstar must ensure that it is possible to poke around in more buildings when GTA 6 is released.

Multiple cities

Other games have a massive advantage over GTA in this department due to their linear nature, but Rockstar could consider including multiple cities in the GTA 6 experience. Whether these would be joined together on one map as was the case with GTA: San Andreas, or instead accessible at different portions of the game, is an open question for Rockstar.

But many gamers miss the sheer scope and ambition of San Andreas, and many other games have been set in multiple locations, delivering a vibrant and varied gaming experience. If Rockstar wishes for GTA 6 to be a true next generation experience, it should seriously consider including multiple cities in the title.

Female protagonist

This is possibly a controversial suggestion, and one that could open up Rockstar to accusations of tokenism, but many people have suggested that the game could include a female protagonist. This seems especially plausible considering the three central characters included in GTA 5, and it will be interesting to see if Rockstar indeed bows to the public suggestion of a female GTA anti-hero. This could serve the purpose of softening the rougher edges of some of the previous titles in the series, although this in itself could prompt a mixed reaction from established fans.

A united game universe

This would be a massive challenge for the writers of the GTA 6 narrative, but a single game universe, tying together all of the strands from previous titles, could be an attractive proposition. This is something that Marvel has chosen to do with its range of comics recently, and it is a technique that can thicken the broth of the narrative universe that GTA inhabits.

Improved story

Speaking of narrative elements, it is considered by many that the storyline and writing in GTA 5 was not up to the standard of previous games. Naughty Dog has set the bar incredibly high with The Last of Us, and Rockstar must respond with a more convincing story for GTA 6. While the online universe is undoubtedly important, many gamers play GTA for the single-player experience, and ultimately few people really cared about Michael and Franklin, and Trevor was just downright odious.

Higher difficulty

Many people believe that GTA 5 was simply too easy, and Rockstar should consider upping the difficulty level for GTA 6. While no-one would wish to see numerous missions akin to Supply Lines from GTA: San Andreas, an epic game should by its very nature be challenging.

Play as a cop online

Grand Theft Auto is all about committing crimes, but flipping the whole concept of the game so that it is possible to play as a cop, particularly online, would be a novel and welcome innovation.

Empire building

Finally, many aspects of the game that were included in the GTA series have since been shaved from the series, and possibly the most important and missed of these is the concept of empire building. While GTA 5 touched upon this to a certain extent, it was made for too difficult to purchase properties in the game, and ultimately pointless. Rockstar could build on the template from Vice City – in which one couldn’t progress without building an empire – and deliver a GTA 5 universe in which making commercial decisions actually significantly impacts upon the game, and is thus a central facet of it.

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