‘GTA 6’: 3 intriguing new details we just learned

At this point, there’s a good chance anyone reading this has already purchased and pre-loaded Grand Theft Auto VI. You’ve chosen a console, or maybe you’re still looking to buy one, but at any rate, all you can do is wait for the game and soak in any pre-release details you can.

Thank goodness for The Guardian, then, as the UK newspaper published an exclusive preview of the game in its Saturday print edition. We’ve read the whole thing, which involved a tour through Vice City’s open world in the early stages of the game, and have compiled three of the more fascinating details that were revealed in the piece for your reading pleasure.

There are so many birds in this game

One tiny nugget in the preview that stood out immediately is that, apparently, the player can keep a logbook of different wildlife they encounter in the streets and swamps of Leonida. As far as I know, this is a first for Grand Theft Auto, and it feels like something right out of Red Dead Redemption. Nature has been featured in some previous GTA games, but the player didn’t have much of a relationship with it, unlike Rockstar’s cowboy series.

Anyway, Rockstar confirmed to The Guardian that there are 62 different types of birds to log in GTA6. That’s so many birds, man.

Romance isn’t just in cutscenes

Much of GTA 6‘s marketing has focused on the romantic interplay between protagonists Jason and Lucia. We already know that both are playable, and can be switched between freely for much of the game outside of story missions. Rockstar has also spoken to some extent about the way romance works in GTA 6, but The Guardian’s preview shed more light on how the player will actually affect it outside of cutscenes.

Specifically, whoever the player is controlling can call or text the other protagonist when they aren’t together. When they are together, the player can make them go on dates, which can take the form of getting drinks, going to the gym, or even robbing a liquor store. Love manifests in many different ways, I guess. There will also be some unspecified consequences for neglecting the relationship, according to the preview.

Rockstar wants to encourage empathy

This was perhaps the most vague part of The Guardian’s piece, but also the most interesting. According to Rockstar, GTA 6 “provide mechanisms to encourage [empathy]” in the player. We don’t yet know exactly how that will manifest in-game, but it would be a stark departure from the almost nihilistic crime spree fantasies from previous GTA games.

Of course, you can still play GTA 6 that way if you want, but the game might have something for those of us who aren’t interested in causing mayhem, too.