My Grand Theft Auto VI wishlist

Time flies! The first trailer for GTA VI is already over half a year old. Since then, Rockstar has remained silent on the hotly anticipated open-world thriller.

I can’t wait any longer. To bridge the gap until the next trailer, I’ve put together a list of functions and features that the current-gen GTA should definitely fulfil.

Single-player expansions

According to leaks, Rockstar had planned eight(!) singleplayer expansions for GTA V. These were cancelled because of the immense success of GTA Online. It’s a shame – my eyes well up when I think about the crazy stories and missions I was able to experience. Still, some gameplay elements and content from the cancelled expansions were later reused in the online mode.

My wish for GTA VI is that Rockstar will surprise me with real single-player content again after the launch. Like they did with GTA IV. For many fans the expansions The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony were much better than the main game.

The GTA 6 online mode will probably go through the roof again. But, I’m convinced that Rockstar’s leaving money on the table by completely ignoring single-player DLCs.

They can release the expansions as full-price games for all I care. They could take a leaf out of cult studio RGG’s book, who reuse cities from past games in their «Like a Dragon» games. Their motto: why keep developing cities from scratch when you can tell new stories in existing cities? I agree. I want to experience more than just a single-player gangster epic in Vice City, dammit.

So much nature

I love huge open-world maps. This is in stark contrast to Valentin, who only recently moaned about huge gamescapes in his opinion piece. I was particularly offended by the section where he gets upset about the «empty» parts of the GTA V map. He thinks the extensive natural areas of forests, mountains and deserts are boring. I don’t get it at all.

Exploring these deserted landscapes is really fun in an open-world game such as GTA. It’s a welcome contrast to the crowded streets of the city.

These vast natural areas are also the birthplace of many an urban legend. The Ghost of Mount Gordo, Bigfoot, the Infinity Killer and the UFO mystery of Mount Chiliad – GTA V is full of little mysteries found in the «boring» countryside.

Apart from the mystery aspect, I also find nature itself fascinating in these kind of games. With Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar has surpassed itself with the simulation of a living and real-looking ecosystem. When I was playing, I often felt like I was in a nature documentary where I was watching wild animals in their natural habitat – or shooting them because I needed their fur.

I’m curious to know whether Rockstar is building on the foundation of the beautiful Wild West nature and which elements they’ll integrate into GTA VI. The amount of nature scenes in the first GTA VI trailer gives me hope.

Separate islands and game areas

Past Rockstar games have always surprised me with new game areas. For example, Red Dead Redemption 2, when I was stranded with Arthur Morgan on the tropical island of Guarma after a shipwreck. I could hardly contain my excitement. A new game area? Am I dreaming?!

Or when I suddenly had to fly with CJ in GTA: San Andreas from the West Coast to Liberty City in GTA III. I thought, «no way!». I didn’t mind that it was only for one mission. Just the idea that CJ was there blew me away at the time.

I want to experience moments like this again in GTA VI and break out of Vice City at least once. After all, in the real world, you can reach many exciting islands and countries very quickly from Miami. Maybe I’ll go on a mission to Colombia? Or how about a day trip to the Bahamas? Or a deserted island somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico?

40 fps on consoles

GTA VI will be a massive game. Some game scenes suggest that Rockstar’s epic will set new standards for animated open worlds. Look at how many people are playing at this beach at the same time:

And how many cars I can drive on Ocean Drive:

Game scenes like these demand a lot from the CPU. That’s why tech experts at Digital Foundry are certain the game won’t run at 60 frames per second (FPS) on consoles, but at 30 – just like the first trailer for the game.

Digital Foundry doesn’t expect better performance from the PS5 Pro either. This is because the PS5 upgrade from Sony is rumoured to bring only a meagre increase in clock frequency. The ten per cent increase in performance will at most ensure the game runs more stable on the Pro than on the normal PS5.

I hope that Rockstar will make a compromise with GTA VI that other development studios have also made with the PS5 and Xbox series generation: an uncapped 40 FPS mode. Insomniac’s last year’s PS5 smash hit Spider-Man 2 was the first time I fell in love with the option. You can activate the mode if you have a 120 Hz television that supports a «Variable Refresh Rate» – VRR for short. VRR dynamically adjusts the refresh rate of a display and compensates for frame rate fluctuations. This can eliminate unsightly effects such as tearing or jerking.

In the case of Spider-Man 2, it works so well with the unlimited 40 FPS mode. The game fluctuates between 40 and 60 FPS and still looks ultra-smooth thanks to VRR. I don’t notice any difference to the «regular» 60 FPS mode. Another bonus is, the graphics settings (details, resolution, etc.) are the same as in 30 FPS mode. So I get the best of both worlds. Who knows, maybe an intermediate mode on GTA VI will be possible on the more powerful PS5 Pro.

Clever Dualsense functions

I love Sony’s Dualsense Controller. Its detailed vibration function, gyro sensor and haptic triggers are simply great fun. Around four years after the launch of the PS5, I’m hugely disappointed at how few games support the controller in a clever way.

I expect the full package from Rockstar for GTA VI. The game won’t be released for PC for the time being, only for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. This’ll allow Rockstar to optimise the experience for consoles – hopefully also for the PS5 controller.

I want to feel raindrops on my controller. I want shotguns to make my hands shake from a light vibration, while shots with the Uzi to feel like short and sharp vibrations. I want to feel resistance when I pull the trigger and accelerate.

But the most important function for me is the motion-controlled targets. I want to be able to fire headshots using the slightest movement on the PS5 controller. I explain why aiming with the gyro sensor is so cool in the article listed below. In short, it’s quicker, more precise and simply more fun. Once you’ve used gyro aiming, you’ll never want to go back to analogue sticks.

More minigames

Many people find too many mini-games in games annoying and distracting – Cassie is also frustrated by the amount of distractions in some games:

Nonsense. The more minigames, the better. In GTA games, there were always side activities such as bowling, tennis and so on. But that’s not enough for me. I still want more.

Here too, Rockstar can look to Japanese RGG Studio for inspiration. Their Like a Dragon games are always packed with an incredible number of minigames. Some of them – such as the Animal Crossing parody Dondoko Island – even take on absurd proportions and could be released as additional paid content. What’s especially impressive is, I can also play old Sega arcade classics in arcades. How cool would it be if in GTA VI I could play the first 2D GTA on my virtual PC? I can dream, can’t I?

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–What content and features would you like to see in GTA VI?–