GTA 6 Will Encourage Players to Show Morality and Empathy “for the first time in the series”

When you think of the Grand Theft Auto series, one of the first things that comes to mind is the sheer freedom of its sandbox-style open worlds. More specifically, the freedom to wreak absolute havoc in them.

Pulling guns on unsuspecting NPCs, dragging drivers out of moving vehicles, stealing cars, evading the police and committing just about every act of virtual malfeasance imaginable have become staples of the series. After all, the franchise isn’t called Grand Theft Auto for nothing.

And while that freedom to embrace your inner criminal will certainly remain a major part of the upcoming GTA 6, Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson says the game will also encourage something that might sound downright foreign to longtime fans: morality and empathy.

“Crime is a fundamental part of GTA – at least up until now, it has been,” Nelson told The Guardian in an interview featured in its Saturday magazine.

“We’re trying to make sure we’re not punishing people for playing the game they are used to,” Nelson continued. “[But] your actions will have some effect on how the game plays out.”

In other words, Rockstar isn’t suddenly turning GTA 6 into a game where you have to obey traffic laws, respect pedestrians and resist the urge to launch your stolen sports car off the nearest overpass. Players who want to unleash their inner chaotic evil will apparently still be free to do so.

But for those who would rather show a little restraint, or perhaps even demonstrate some compassion toward the inhabitants of Vice City and the surrounding state of Leonida, Rockstar is introducing mechanics designed to encourage that approach as well.

“I would say that [being empathetic], it’s a product of the story we’re trying to tell,” Nelson explained. “We’ve tried for the first time in a GTA to provide mechanisms that encourage it, for those who want to.”

Exactly how these mechanics will work, and what consequences they might have, remains to be seen.

Will players who take a stealthier approach to heists be rewarded for avoiding unnecessary bloodshed? Could choosing to spare certain characters influence the story or how other NPCs react to you? Will there be consequences for starting a massive shootout in the middle of Vice City when you could have handled the situation without firing a single bullet?

Lucia and Jason in the GTA 6 trailer/Rockstar

And perhaps most importantly, will GTA 6 actually make us think twice before mowing down a sidewalk full of pedestrians in a lifted pickup truck?

Rockstar has yet to spell out exactly how far these new systems will go, but the possibility of having our actions carry more meaningful consequences is an intriguing one. If the studio can pull it off without sacrificing the outrageous freedom that made Grand Theft Auto famous, it could add an entirely new dimension to the series.

The real question is whether players will embrace their newfound empathy or simply go right back to seeing how long they can survive with a five-star wanted level.