Combat and Focus

4:36 The first shootout of An Extended Look shows how gunfights in Grand Theft Auto 6 have changed. Cover returns, but the lock-on that let earlier Grand Theft Auto games snap straight to enemies is gone. TGG, who saw the footage at Rockstar North, says there is still the aim assist of most third-person shooters, with weapon spread and the rest. At the top left sit two bars, health and Focus.

Quick facts

Shooting

6:00 TGG counts three hit markers. White means you hit someone. Yellow means you have put them in an incapacitated state: they will not get up again and are no longer a threat, so you can leave them. Red means a kill. Coming out of cover, Jason swaps shoulders, a Red Dead Redemption 2 feature that Grand Theft Auto V did not have.

6:49 Kills can end on a kill camera in the style of Red Dead Redemption 2 or Max Payne 3, and bad crashes on a crash camera. TGG learned at Rockstar that both can be turned off.

15:46 Weapons you are not carrying live in your vehicle, as they lived on your horse in Red Dead Redemption 2. Pistols seem to have lost the capped fire rate of Grand Theft Auto V: in the Extended Look, a pistol appears to fire as fast as the trigger is pulled.

23:39 The weapon wheel shows the loadout. You can carry two one-handed and two two-handed weapons; anything more stays in the boot of your personal vehicle. There are also slots for a melee weapon, a gadget and a throwable, a Molotov in the footage, and healing items at the bottom left. An items tab sits beside the weapons.

4:03 penguinz0 found the gunplay "fluid" and "fast", and liked that the bodies react to where they are shot in a way that recalls Grand Theft Auto IV's physics.

Focus

10:03 Focus is the third bar, and TGG stresses it is not simply Red Dead Redemption 2's Dead Eye. Jason and Lucia can both use it to slow time, like Dead Eye or Michael's ability in Grand Theft Auto V, and it also reveals weak points on people and on vehicles.

37:24 The Extended Look's final shootout shows it in use. Time slows and body areas light up: red where a shot would be lethal, yellow where it would not. On vehicles it picks out weak points too, though the footage only shows it on people.

13:11 In slow motion you can aim for the head, a knee, or the gun itself to disarm someone, which gameranx likens to the Red Dead games. It thinks the shooting finally has the feel of a big-budget third-person shooter.

10:43 On vehicles, Focus shows the targets that now matter: tires, which are far more useful to shoot than before, the engine block and the fuel tank. See Cars and Driving.

Focus is not only for fights. In IGN's account of the hands-off demo Nelson played, published Oct 7, 2026, he switches it on as Jason and Lucia reunite and a nearby cop glows: IGN calls it very similar to Red Dead Redemption 2's Eagle Eye, a way to "locate things that you want to find on the map" and "certainly cops" (IGN, Oct 7, 2026). Spotting police before they see you matters because a crime needs a witness or an alarm before it is reported (Wanted System).

Moving and fighting

36:59 In the same fight, Jason plants a sticky bomb in a lift, and Lucia crouches. Crouching was missing from Grand Theft Auto V, which only had cover; now you can crouch anywhere.

2:16 Hand-to-hand fighting looks overhauled. penguinz0 first thought it looked close to the free-flowing combat of the Batman: Arkham games; on a rewatch, it is not that, but it is deeper and more fleshed out than Grand Theft Auto has had. Lucia is the fighter of the two; see Lucia Caminos.

Talking instead

4:20 People in Leonida have their own tolerance. Taunt them and they may take offense or attack; pull a gun and they may cower, or draw their own. Building on Red Dead Redemption 2, the left trigger does not aim a holstered gun but lets you talk to or taunt people, a small-looking system that Nelson told IGN took a huge effort from animators, designers and writers. How a fight you start changes your standing is on Criminal Profile, and how the police respond is on Wanted System.

Frequently asked questions

Does GTA 6 have lock-on aiming? Not the hard lock-on of earlier Grand Theft Auto games, which snapped straight to enemies. TGG, who saw the Extended Look at Rockstar North, says Grand Theft Auto 6 keeps the aim assist of most third-person shooters instead, with weapon spread.

What is Focus in GTA 6? A bar and ability that both Jason and Lucia have. It slows time, like Dead Eye in Red Dead Redemption 2 or Michael's ability in Grand Theft Auto V, and shows weak points: red where a shot would kill, yellow where it would not, on people and on vehicles (tires, engine block, fuel tank). Outside combat it highlights things on the map and nearby police, as Eagle Eye did in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Can you crouch in GTA 6? Yes. Crouching, missing from Grand Theft Auto V, returns and works anywhere, not only in cover; Lucia crouches in the Extended Look's last shootout.

Can you turn off the kill cam in GTA 6? Yes. Grand Theft Auto 6 has a kill camera like Red Dead Redemption 2's and a crash camera for bad crashes, and TGG learned at Rockstar that both can be switched off.

How many guns can you carry in GTA 6? Two one-handed and two two-handed weapons, plus a melee weapon, a gadget and a throwable such as a Molotov. Everything else stays in the trunk of your personal vehicle, as weapons stayed on the horse in Red Dead Redemption 2. More on Weapons.

What do the colored hit markers mean in GTA 6? White is a hit, yellow means the person is incapacitated and no longer a threat, and red is a kill.

Is melee combat better in GTA 6? It looks deeper than in earlier Grand Theft Auto games: the Extended Look shows dodges, blocks and fights against several attackers. penguinz0 first compared it with the Batman: Arkham games, then called it more fleshed out than anything the series has had rather than a copy of them.

Sources

• GTA 6: Every New Gameplay Feature & Mechanic YOU MISSED, TGG, Aug 28, 2026 (video)
• I Saw 3 Hours of GTA 6 at Rockstar North - First Impressions (Exclusive Info), TGG, Aug 27, 2026 (video)
• GTA 6: Gameplay DETAILS WE FOUND, gameranx, Aug 27, 2026 (video)
• Thoughts on the GTA 6 Gameplay Reveal, penguinz0, Aug 27, 2026 (video)
• We've Seen GTA 6 Gameplay IRL - The First Preview, IGN, Aug 28, 2026 (video)
• GTA 6: The Big Interview, IGN, Oct 7, 2026