GTA VI Extended Look Debuts on Netflix, Reveals Gameplay and New Car-Theft Mechanics

The extended look centers on protagonists Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos, showing the two working together on heists, car chases and gunfights. In one scene, Jason hangs out of a car window to shoot at police while Lucia drives; in another, the player controls Lucia as she drives while Jason and another character return fire. A later mission separates the pair, with Jason taking cover in a building while Lucia sneaks around on foot; when she ends up struggling with an enemy on the ground, on-screen prompts tell the player how to escape. The footage also offers brief glimpses of a weapon wheel and activities such as boating, basketball, underwater diving, racing and parachuting.

According to an IGN preview, the game introduces more complex car-theft mechanics. Rockstar co-studio head Rob Nelson told IGN that cars now have “layers of stratification,” meaning players can no longer simply press a button to hot-wire any vehicle. Certain parked cars are inaccessible until players acquire tools later in the story, while vehicles with electronic key fobs might require a key cloner and cars with GPS systems could force players to drive at a certain speed to avoid detection. An in-game app will reportedly tell players what they need to steal a car and how much the car is worth.

The core gameplay remains familiar to longtime fans, retaining the third-person over-the-shoulder camera, cover-based shooting, vehicle theft and the return of the six-star wanted system. Chinese outlet ifanr reported that Rockstar has expanded its workforce to nearly 4,000 developers and hired more than 50 street artists to create Vice City murals. Ifanr also said external estimates put the project’s total cost at $1–1.5 billion, nearly ten times the reportedly $174 million development cost of Cyberpunk 2077, though Rockstar has not confirmed those figures.

The preview’s release follows a series of leaks by a person or group identifying itself as CyberLeek. Rockstar called the leaks “heartbreaking,” and Take-Two, the studio’s parent company, is investigating but has not publicly identified those responsible. Ifanr reported that the Netflix premiere drew so many viewers that it briefly overwhelmed the streaming service.

The cinematic presentation on Netflix marks a departure from typical game trailers. The Verge wrote that the preview felt like “a slice of a prestige crime drama” rather than a traditional video game trailer, further blurring the lines between Hollywood and gaming. GTA V, released 13 years ago, has sold more than 230 million copies, and Rockstar’s previous two GTA VI trailers have accumulated hundreds of millions of views, setting a high bar for the sequel.