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Grand Theft Auto 6 is being designed as so much more than another story mission playground. While there’s sure to be plenty to do on Rockstar Games’ grand scale when you’re out wreaking havoc across Vice City, there are also dozens of activities players can get up to outside of the main narrative.
Side hustles spotted in the game so far include some classics like pool and basketball. However, there’s also kayaking, scuba diving, fishing, hunting and airboating, multiple racings, going to the gym, parachuting, and more combat activities as well.
GTA 6 also seemingly focuses more on characters living their daily lives. Players can visit clubs, bars, beaches, and lots more in-between.
Sports and Pub Games
A handful of old mini-games are coming back, but GTA 6 will also feature some new recreations.
Basketball
As expected from Rockstar’, players will be able to head to local street courts around the Leonida area (including a half-court located directly outside Jason’ street mansion) at any time to pick up a ball with zero loading or menu transitions.
As for playing the game itself, probably the biggest reveal from recent HUD leaks was that basketball actually benefits character stats. Shots made by Jason will prompt a message confirming that basketball has granted him a positive increase to a completely new statistic named the Focus stat.
While Rockstar hasn’t explicitly shared what the Focus stat will be used for, player analysis of previous build video leaks revealed that Focus works as some sort of special meter (used to highlight targets or maybe slow time during critical shootouts and car chases). Essentially, basketball won’t just be there as a recreational mini-game. Shots played will benefit your character’ strength and will help you level up.
As cool as San Andreas’ basketball mini-game was, it utilized basic hitbox timers. Judging by game-play reveals for GTA 6, Rockstar has implemented full shot physics tracking. Distances to the rim and player stance are taken into consideration. Featured in game-play trailers are incredibly lifelike animations for each character models’ shot follow through and release.
One detail missing from initial game-play leaks was the ability to play full court games of basketball. The newest GTA VI trailer confirms that players will be able to travel to the full sized courts allowing players to utilize every aspect of the open sandbox to start street games with multiple NPCs, neighborhood pick-up games, and who knows maybe even a competitive basketball scene in GTA Online.
Pool
NPCs will surround the table to watch your game with some throwing out challenges or bets. Music will still play from the bar in the background, people will chat around you, and fights can break out as if you’re sitting at the table while the world operates as normal.
Players can initiate a game of pool by walking up to tables scattered throughout dive bars, honky-tonks, and fancy nightlife venues. Matches can be played with friends, random NPC competitors, or against your story characters to pass the time. People can gather around the table to watch you play as virtual spectators, and just like in real life, the bar around you is bustling with activity.
To match its realistic physics engine, pool in GTA 6 utilizes an analog-stick based control system detailed below:
- The CueLine: Use your left analog stick to aim. A homing puck line will appear when lining up your shot, but will grow fuzzy or clear depending on how drunk your character is or how good their actual pool skill is.
- The StrokeDrive: Instead of holding down a shot button, players pull back on their left analog stick to charge, then snap forward to drive at the power they feel is necessary on the cue ball.
- Additional Spin Mechanics: “English” can be used by striking either the upper or lower rails of the cue ball to activate backspin or topspin shots. On top of allowing for more fancy trick shots and defensive “safety” plays.
Games will mostly revolve around the straight-forward nature of 8-ball as you’d typically expect at your local pub. Whether you want to shoot some pool with random NPCs at the bar or shoot some pool with your story character friends (like Jason and Cal shooting some pool) you can. There is even a betting system mentioned that lets you wager money against your NPC opponents.
Mini Golf
Mini-golf has been confirmed as another open-world side activity in Grand Theft Auto VI. Players can pick up and play leisurely games of mini-golf at putting greens throughout the state of Leonida.
The inclusion of mini-golf was confirmed by trailer breakdowns and deep dives conducted by media outlets over Rockstar's extensive gameplay trailer. Journalists pointed out shots of players lounging on vibrant mini-golf courses littered with obstacles. Mini-golf courses are typically more condensed than traditional golf courses and revolve around short putting holes that require precise angles and strategy to navigate through zany obstacles.
While players can enjoy mini-golf courses alone to pass the time, mini-golf is meant to facilitate rivalries. Players can take on NPCs or presumably challenge other players to a multiplayer game.
Mini-golf courses exist separately from traditional golf courses in the game. It was also reported that Rockstar is including an expansive life-like 18-hole golf course that players can use to play full-sized matches on and drive golf carts. Mini-golf is just one of many activities Rockstar is looking to include on the map to make Leonida a living and breathing sandbox. Other activities mentioned include street basketball, working out at gyms, and kayaking.
Wrestling and Cage Fighting
Hand-to-hand combat looks like it’s getting a massive overhaul with the additions of backyard wrestling and underground cage fighting. Mini-golf or a game of pool can be fun ways to chill when you want something low key, but when you’re craving something that really lets you experience Vice City and the Leonida region street culture, these are exactly the types of things you’ll want to do.
Fans first noticed backyard wrestling when it popped up as a fast-paced lifestyle cutscene in one of the game’s trailers. Leonida sure has its wild side.
These won’t be the refined operations you see in big-money matches on TV. These will take place in makeshift rings set up in mud yards, trailer parks, and secret locations throughout the map.
The feature appears to be much more involved than simple brawling, with unique grappleholds and pro-wrestling moves you can use. You’ll even be able to execute complex maneuvers on enemies as shown with characters performing moves like John Cena’s signature Attitude Adjustment.
As expected with backyard wrestling, the environment around you will play a factor. Grass will be slided on, home made rope rings will be there to interact with, and who knows if folding tables and lawn chairs will end up getting broken during a match.
Water and Outdoor Activities
There will be plenty to do in both water and on land in GTA 6’s environment. Players will reportedly be able to kayak and canoe through rivers and swamps. Jet skis can be used to travel along the coast at a faster pace.
Players will also seemingly be able to go scuba diving to explore underwater. Other outdoor activities will include:
Fishing
GTA 6's fishing mechanic is strictly used as a sport fishing activity. As revealed by studio head Rob Nelson, GTA 6's modern-day setting means players will not have to fish to survive like in Red Dead Redemption 2, and will therefore be unable to cook or sell their catches.
Instead, fishing serves as a purely catch-and-release activity used for sport, completing challenges, and logging different fish species found within the open world. Fishing mechanics are robust, with fish changing depending on the weather, body of water, and bait used.
Players can fish from many of the game's shorelines, or even head out into deeper waters on a boat, such as the Shih Tzu Swallow Speedboat, available to players who pre-order the game. Nelson stated that fishing is primarily meant to act as a relaxing activity players can do while in-game.
Hunting
Unlike fishing, hunting animals will be an active source of income for players. Rockstar North studio head Rob Nelson explained that hunting animals isn't tacked on to the game like fishing minigame was. "When you hunt animals in Grand Theft Auto 6, it’s baked into the economy. It’s a huge thing." Players will unlock hunting via one of their contacts who knows Jason. This will allow them to hunt animals throughout the game's open world.
Rockstar Games is repurposing elements of Red Dead Redemption 2s beloved wildlife activities for Grand Theft Auto 6's modern era. Players won't simply hunt animals down and kill them either, they can inspect animals specifically. You'll even be able to inspect dogs throughout the state of Leonida and pet them or shout at them. Obviously.
Players will have a vast array of land to search for animals. This includes anywhere from countryside all the way down to national parks such as Mount Kalaga. Since players can sell these animals for cash, tracking specific rare animals will be important if you want to earn more.
Airboating
Airboating will be one of the most iconic ways to traverse Grand Theft Auto 6's waterways. Promotional materials for the game's announcement and subsequent trailers have frequently highlighted fanboats speeding across crystal-clear lakes. Players will be able to traverse the entirety of these outdoor wetlands outside of Vice City with airboats, creating an authentic rural experience within Leonida.
Airboats will roam around Grassrivers, a sprawling wetland biome that takes heavy inspiration from Florida's Everglades. Vehicles built for airboating utilize oversized fans affixed to the back of the vehicle instead of submerged propulsion systems.
Because of their construction, players can travel over expansive grassy lakes, small cypress mudflats, and spider-webbed mangrove forests that would otherwise strand regular watercraft.
Airboats have their own unique flat-bottom physics introduced by Rockstar Games that feel entirely different from normal sea-worthy hull designs. The world around players will also contain exclusive wildlife encounters such as avoiding hostile crocodiles or driving over raised kayaker platforms to observe birds or view opportunities within the marsh. Players can drive several confirmed fanboat civilian vehicles such as the Airgator or police airboats with spotlight bar thrown by GTA Online's task force group POACH (Protection of Animals & Controlled Hunting).
Kayaking and Canoeing
Kayaking and canoeing have been confirmed as official open-world mechanics in Grand Theft Auto 6. Offering players a slower paced method of exploration, paddlesports in GTA 6 will allow players to travel throughout the games interconnected waterways with stealth and ease, compared to motorized boats.
First noticed by players in a promotional shot of Mount Kalaga National Park, it depicts an NPC leisurely rowing a canoe under a train bridge past what appears to be a functioning river flood gauge. This leads players to believe rivers will be affected by flowing currents and active weather.
The Crest Kayak will be GTA 6’s official paddlesports vehicle. A mocking take on real life paddle company Crescent Kayaks, those who purchase the Ultimate Edition will have access to their own Crest Kayak spawn at Jason’s residence from day one along with dirt bikes and four-wheelers.
Jet Skiing and Scuba Diving
Jet skiing makes a return this time around as an open-ended, rapid-fire free-roam activity that allows players to jet around the sunny coastline of Vice City. Available jet ski includes the traditional Speedophile Sea Shark personal watercraft featuring all new generation craft fully upgraded for current-gen systems.
Jet skis handle incredibly responsively thanks to Rockstar’ meta-realistic active fluid physics engine. Rather than gliding across flat or homogeneous planes jet skis actually jump, cut, and interact with unique splashing speed boat wakes, bob up and down over top of ocean currents, and push through powerful tide changes. Outside of free roaming around town players can also take part in organized competitive jet ski derbies located throughout the game’s beaches.
Scuba diving brings players underwater in completely explorable silence from the hectic streets above. Instead of the free roaming swim mechanics GTA delivered in its predecessors, diving deeper comes with lifelines. Submerging yourself in water will prompt a unique lung-capacity bar to take the place of your typical stamina bar while also giving you a unique oxygen survival meter that determines how long you can stay underwater.
Players can swim with schools of tropical fish, turtles, and even man eaters like sharks. The sea life also interacts with your presence underwater. Whether it be exploring dark underwater caverns or canyons, searching through submerged wrecks and debris fields for random-item loot containers, or unearthing buried treasure hidden beneath the sand.
Racing
Grand Theft Auto 6's driving and racing systems take after more realistic, simulation-style foundations focused around responsive vehicle dynamics and realistic-time physics. The overall condition of cars ties into the open world more than ever, including a new localized fuel meter display letting players know when their fuel or EV charge gets low.
Competitive street racing in Grand Theft Auto 6 has been divided into three overarching categories. Asphalt racing on permanent closed circuits makes its first appearance in the series, drawing heavy influence from real-world tracks such as the Gellhorn International Raceway.
These races pit players and up to 15 others in fields of actual GT cars racing around narrow courses with tight turns and longer straights. Street racing also returns in Grand Theft Auto 6, spanninng Vice City's glowing streets in an homage to the Midnight Club series.
These underground racing tournaments place a heavy emphasis on customizing your vehicle with features like vinyl wraps, colorful underglow lights, and nitrous boosts. Off-road races expand on Leonida's varying landscapes by hurling players off paved roads and onto dirty race courses. These races have you mastering your bike's weight, tilt factor, and air control during massive dirt jumps on motocross motorcycles and off-road vehicles.
Entertainment and Social Life
GTA 6 also seems to be devoting plenty of time to the characters' life outside of crime. Players will be able to use their in-game phone to check social media. You'll even be able to browse through their feeds.
At night, you'll be able to visit bars and nightclubs, where players can grab a drink, enjoy the music, and dance. Strip clubs are back in this game too. If players just want to kick back, they can always hang at the beach and relax in the sun.
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