Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson says GTA 6 is the first game in the series to actively encourage empathy, at least for players who want it. In an interview with The Guardian, spotted by IGN, Nelson said the studio has tried "for the first time in a GTA to provide mechanisms that encourage it," and tied the change to the story of Jason and Lucia. He described the pair as a young couple who are running out of options, so their early jobs stick to low-level stuff like stealing cheaper cars and picking easy locks, with bigger jobs coming later.

Crime isn't going anywhere, though. Nelson called it a fundamental part of GTA and said Rockstar doesn't want to penalize players who stick to the old GTA formula, although what they do will still shape how things unfold to some degree. Apparently, the relationship between Jason and Lucia can grow or fall apart depending on how players treat it. Earlier previews also detailed a Criminal Profile system that tracks how violently players commit crimes, with states ranging from Professional to Psycho, and it can reportedly "shatter" for good if players keep going overboard.Rockstar hasn't explained what these empathy mechanisms actually involve or how far the consequences go, so it's hard to say how much they'll change the usual GTA experience. Players will find out soon enough, as GTA 6 launches on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, although only targeting 30 FPS. It's already the most pre-ordered game ever on both the PlayStation Store and Microsoft Store.