7 Classic GTA Features GTA VI Should Bring Back

Each Grand Theft Auto installment has at least one unique feature that would help Rockstar take GTA VI to the next level. Thirteen years since the latest mainline GTA entry, GTA VI has become a generational event. Naturally, expectations are unprecedented, influenced by over a decade of technological progress.

What GTA VI chooses to keep, add, and abandon from its predecessors is key to its success. Adding or removing the wrong feature could radically affect the game's reception. Looking back at what previously worked, and why it worked, is essential if Rockstar aims to deliver the definitive Grand Theft Auto and, potentially, the ultimate open-world game.

7 GTA III’s Classic Top-Down Camera View

Alternate Camera Angles Deliver Drastically Different Experiences, If Only Just For Fun

While GTA III is remembered as the franchise’s leap into fully-realized 3D, it still carries DNA from the original top-down GTA and GTA 2. Players can activate an overhead perspective that flattens Liberty City into something resembling a living diorama. It's a simple toggle that honors the franchise's 2D roots. Since then, Rockstar has never revisited this perspective.

The original GTA games' top-down view costs little but adds a lot to the experience. An overhead perspective would dramatically change how GTA VI feels without altering any mechanic. Like GTA V’s first-person mode, this wouldn’t need to serve the narrative at all, but it could exist purely as an optional, just-for-fun feature, perhaps tied to side activities, arcade-style missions, or free roam.

6 GTA San Andreas’ Strategic Map Design

GTA VI's Detailed Map Design Is Essential To The Game's Success

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has one of the most iconic and masterfully designed open-world maps in the history of gaming, largely because of how cleverly it uses its limited size. San Andreas famously divides its world into three distinct regions, each with its own geography and atmosphere, which makes the map feel far larger than it actually is. Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturas offer drastically different experiences, all in the same game.

Better yet, San Andreas plays with elevation and obstacles: bridges that bottleneck traffic, steep hills that force detours, canals and rivers that cut through urban spaces, and dense city grids punctuated by closed streets and swerving highways. Forests, farmland, military bases, and industrial zones all serve functional roles and a distinct landscape. Players can’t simply drive in a straight line for long before they're forced to choose different roads, consult the map, or even switch vehicles.

Later GTA maps have their strengths, but none match San Andreas’ strategic complexity. GTA IV’s Liberty City is an impressively faithful and atmospheric interpretation of New York, but its three-island structure makes it easy to memorize and navigate. GTA VI should take direct inspiration from San Andreas’ layered approach and keep even veteran players on their toes, with interconnected regions that feel engaging and alive. Smart design beats sheer scale every time.

5 GTA Vice City Stories’ Empire System

A Complex, More Dynamic Progression System Is Long Overdue

GTA: Vice City Stories allows players to actively build and manage a criminal empire. Instead of simply acquiring safehouses, players could take over businesses across the city, such as drug rings, loan shark operations, and smuggling hubs, all by completing hostile takeovers and defensive missions. Each property generated income, unlocked specific side activities, and could be upgraded or protected from rival gangs. Losing a business was possible if it wasn’t defended, which adds a rare sense of risk and ownership to the open world.

The Grand Theft Auto franchise is all about climbing the criminal ladder. Vice City Stories makes territory, economics, and long-term strategy central to single-player progression, which reinforces the fantasy of rising through the criminal underworld. Different property types, hideouts, vehicles, and associates could meaningfully alter gameplay flow, mission availability, and income streams in GTA VI. With a new empire system, each playthrough could offer a different experience in offline mode.

4 GTA IV’s Ultra-Realistic Physics

There's No Excuse Not To Use Current-Gen Physics Technology To Its Full Potential

GTA IV introduced arguably the biggest technological leap in the franchise’s history with its ultra-realistic physics system, which is still one of the best of its kind to this day. Powered by the Euphoria engine, GTA IV's ragdoll physics fundamentally reshaped how players interact with the world. Every punch, fall, car crash, and explosion plays out differently depending on speed, angle, and environment, which creates unscripted moments. This system adds countless layers to gameplay and gives players near-infinite possibilities.

GTA V famously scaled back its physics to prioritize faster recovery times so characters spend less time on the floor or flying through the air. While this change improved responsiveness, it also stripped away much of the series’ fun-oriented potential. GTA has always been about chaos as much as skill, and GTA V’s toned-down physics reduced the sense of spontaneity that makes GTA IV so fun. Thirteen years' worth of technological development later, GTA VI can match and surpass GTA IV’s most entertaining aspect.

3 GTA IV The Ballad of Gay Tony’s Nightclub Scene

Vice City Without Nightlife Would Make Little Sense

GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony significantly expanded a generally overlooked aspect of the franchise by turning Liberty City’s club scene into a pillar of the game. Nightclubs like Maisonette 9 and Hercules became social spaces players could manage or simply enjoy as a customer. Missions frequently took place inside these venues, reinforcing the idea that the city itself had a pulse after dark.

Nightlife is essential to Vice City given its Miami inspirations. With current-generation technology, GTA VI can finally deliver a nightlife ecosystem that goes far beyond what The Ballad of Gay Tony achieved, with permanently accessible, fully enterable indoor spaces. Nightclubs, bars, concerts, and exclusive venues could serve as hubs for missions, but also as hotspots for business dealings and a wide variety of activities. A modern Vice City should feel alive 24/7, with nightlife that evolves and reacts to player input.

2 GTA V’s Heists

GTA V's Heists Have Become Synonymous With The Franchise

GTA V’s heists are one of the best additions to the franchise from GTA VI's predecessor. Each major heist requires players to scope locations, recruit crew members with varying skill levels, and choose between distinct approaches that alter how missions play out. These missions reinforce GTA V’s replayability and help players feel like professionals pulling off elaborate, high-risk jobs.

To up the ante in GTA VI, Rockstar can evolve the system with many more possible approaches, with even more reactive heists that make the most of Vice City's open world. Smaller robberies, mid-tier jobs, and massive multi-part heists could coexist, influenced by the player’s reputation and relationships. Heists may again work as the backbone of single-player progression, but with many more creative possibilities.

1 GTA Online’s Live Updates

GTA VI's Open World Deserves Recurring Updates

GTA Online owes its longevity to its live update model, which keeps the experience in constant flux through new vehicles, properties, missions, modes, and limited-time events. This steady stream of additions gives players a reason to return every day. GTA Online evolved far beyond its original scope and turned Los Santos into a living city.

GTA VI’s single-player campaign could benefit from constant evolution and expansion with new enterable buildings, new dynamic weather systems, and additional side missions or random events. That is, without removing existing content. Live updates can easily cause FOMO and monetization pressure, or even content removal. GTA IV’s flawless soundtrack continues to be reduced due to expired licenses. If GTA VI is expected to last as long as GTA V, single-player updates across a decade would keep Vice City alive without compromising its integrity.