Don’t expect dealing with the police in GTA 6 to be a walk in the park, one Rockstar lead warns, as law enforcement has been given a significant upgrade in the upcoming entry to keep you on your toes when you’ve been up to no good.
A deep-dive video from content creator TGG (below) explains the changes made to the police system in GTA 6. Notably, police will no longer have such a short memory when it comes to recognizing you after a crime, meaning you’ll have to put a bit more effort into staying undetected.
“We wanted to get past that thing we used to have where you could lose the cops instantaneously, and then they forget about you instantly,” explains Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson. “And we wanted them to have a bit more persistent memory.”
To enable this, Rockstar has introduced a new mechanic called ‘heat.’ Several icons may appear below your wanted level, indicating what information about you the police know and can recognize. For example, they might be aware of what clothes you’re wearing or what vehicle you’re using, so even if you manage to get out of their line of sight during a chase, then they’re still going to spot you later on if you’ve not addressed those factors – even after your wanted stars have disappeared, according to TGG.
Speaking of breaking the police’s line of sight, though, another big change has been made here. On your mini-map, you won’t see the police show up on your radar when you’re being chased.
“It can be harder, but it’s fun, depending on the wanted level,” Nelson says. “You have to think more. You can’t just play the game and avoid their little vision cones anymore. […] So, they don’t show up on the radar, they show up when you use Focus.”
TGG notes that Focus lets you see the cops through walls, so you’ll definitely have options up your sleeve for detecting and avoiding the law, but you won’t be able to rely on the mini-map as much.
As you’d expect after so many years of development, GTA 6 has seen lots of tweaks and refinements compared to previous entries in the series. You can’t so easily stroll around the city carrying guns anymore, either – NPCs will now react accordingly depending on what weapons you’re swinging around, with Nelson noting that they’re “more nuanced than before.”