GTA 6 is adding a more nuanced version of Red Dead Redemption 2’s honor system to ensure player characters aren’t too ‘all-powerful’

Two wrongs don’t make a right, but one huge wrong and then a lot of little rights can make it feel better. According to Rockstar North’s co-studio head Rob Nelson (via IGN) GTA 6 will be getting this treatment, just a little bit more nuanced.

Think Red Dead Redemption 2’s Honor System and then ramp it up a bit. While Arthur Morgan could really game the system, doing the most heinous crimes before working his way back into the good graces of all, Jason and Lucia won’t have it quite that easy.

“There isn’t a right or wrong way to play this game, but consistent actions may have an impact in terms of how the world reacts to you and how the narrative plays out,” Nelson says. Alongside the classic Wanted Level, players will also have to pay attention to their Criminal Profile.

But here’s where the nuance comes in: doing bad things doesn’t necessarily count against your Criminal Profile. If you’re in a situation where violence is the only logical and safe next step then sure, start shooting, but if you’re the aggressor or have even escalated a situation beyond any reasonable amount? NPCs will remember that.

One way to even it out, however, is by Lucia or Jason doing small acts of kindness. Apparently things like throwing your rubbish away in bins or being nice to animals will count in your favour. See, everyone wins when you recycle.

This isn’t Rockstar trying to teach its players mortality, I think we all know it’s too late for that, but it is an attempt to make Jason and Lucia’s actions a little more realistic. “You are playing as criminals on the run, but the narrative is such that it makes most sense for them to do what they need to do while not drawing unnecessary attention (even though sometimes that happens),” Nelson explains.

It’s also just a smart move not to be too much of an asshole when walking around the fictional not-Florida, Leonida. Instead of just having to worry about the police coming for you, now some locals will pick a fight if you taunt them too much, or just a little bit. “I think in previous GTA games you were a bit all-powerful,” Nelson adds. “You were the only one with an invisible arsenal hidden away. Apart from the police, everyone would run in terror from you if you started acting out. This world in GTA 6 is not like that.”

But if the noise, violence, and trigger-happy locals of Leonida all get too much for you then you’ll be able to just head back to your safehouses, which also take something from RDR2 as they act “closer to the camps in terms of how interactive they are and how much they feel like your home.”