Criminal Profile

2:48 Criminal Profile is a reputation that Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos each carry in Grand Theft Auto 6. It first appears in An Extended Look as a small devil-with-a-halo icon when Jason chooses whether to pet or scold a dog. It resembles Red Dead Redemption 2's honor system, but Rockstar was keen to tell TGG that it is not a morality meter and is not there to make you play a good guy: it can go up for petting a dog, and it also goes up for being a good criminal. Rockstar's own framing is that it tracks whether each character keeps their crimes professional or commits unnecessary violence, with consequences that reflect their reputation.

Quick facts

"No right or wrong way to play"

3:39 TGG asked Rob Nelson whether it changes the story. "It may, depending on how you play. There's no right or wrong way to play the game, just a bit more choice," Nelson said, and you can still cause as much chaos as you like. Asked whether that changes what Grand Theft Auto is, he answered: "I don't think it changes what GTA is. It changes what it can be for people who want to engage with it that way."

Edge's cover story of Oct 29, 2026 gives the scale: the profile runs from Professional to Irredeemable, shown with angel and devil icons, and "Rockstar says that your Criminal Profile will influence how Jason and Lucia's story unfolds." A fight need not end in a death: a calculating criminal can knock an enemy out instead of killing them, or try threats and intimidation first, while those who shoot first build a violent profile. The choice has limits, Edge notes: you choose what kind of criminal you are, not whether you are one.

7:24 Nelson made the same point to IGN, that there is no correct way to play, but that there are consistent actions that may change how the world reacts to you and how your story plays out. In IGN's demo it was not only big moments of violence that moved it: throwing rubbish in a bin seemed to help, and Nelson named feeding animals as another way.

A good criminal

5:40 Nelson made it very clear to TGG that a low Criminal Profile does not mean you are playing it wrong; in TGG's words, "It's not bad. It's just different." His examples of what drags it down are the extreme ones: killing puppies, attacking bodies that are already dead, mowing people down. There is no bar on screen that rises and falls; in the build TGG saw, a Jason and Lucia tab in the menu showed each character's profile, next to their relationship.

6:45 Being a good criminal, as TGG explains it, means doing the job like a professional: rob a store without killing anyone and, even though it is a crime, your profile goes up. At the other end, Nelson said, a profile can sink so low that its icon cracks and shatters, and from then on nothing can bring it back for the rest of that playthrough.

3:02 IGN describes it as a relationship between the characters and the world: being a public nuisance or doing some good shapes the profile, and the profile changes how people react to you and even how the story unfolds. Conversations feed it too: holstering or drawing your gun changes what you can say, and eavesdropping or meeting the right people can open new activities.

Two profiles

33:02 The character switch menu shows a profile icon for each lead, and in the Extended Look they differ, so the profile is not shared. TGG points out what that allows: a playthrough where Lucia is a professional and Jason a psycho, or both one way. Beside them sits a heart for the state of their relationship; see Jason and Lucia's Relationship.

How your violence shapes the police response in the moment is on Wanted System.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Criminal Profile in GTA 6? It is Grand Theft Auto 6's reputation system: Jason and Lucia each have a profile that tracks whether they commit crimes like professionals or with needless violence, on a scale from Professional to Irredeemable shown with angel and devil icons.

Does the Criminal Profile change the story of GTA 6? Yes, Rockstar says so: Edge reported on Oct 29, 2026 that "your Criminal Profile will influence how Jason and Lucia's story unfolds", and Rob Nelson told TGG it "may, depending on how you play". It can also change how people react to you.

How do you raise your Criminal Profile in GTA 6? Commit crimes cleanly, like robbing a store without killing anyone, knock enemies out or threaten them instead of killing, and do small good deeds: IGN saw throwing rubbish in a bin help, and Nelson named feeding animals.

Can you ruin your Criminal Profile for good? Yes. Nelson told TGG that a profile can sink so low that its icon cracks and shatters, and nothing brings it back for the rest of that playthrough.

Is the GTA 6 Criminal Profile like Red Dead Redemption 2's honor? It resembles it, but Rockstar says it is not a morality meter: there is no right or wrong way to play, and a low profile just means a different kind of criminal, not a wrong one.

Do Jason and Lucia share a Criminal Profile? No. Each has their own profile, shown side by side in the character switch menu, so one can be a professional while the other is violent.

Sources

• Grand Theft Auto VI exclusive - The state that never sleeps, Simon Parkin, Edge (GamesRadar+), Oct 29, 2026
• Grand Theft Auto 6, Wikipedia (Rockstar's framing of the system)
• 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)
• We've Seen GTA 6 Gameplay IRL - The First Preview, IGN, Aug 28, 2026 (video)
• GTA 6 - Biggest Gameplay Changes From Grand Theft Auto 5, IGN, Aug 28, 2026 (video)