GTA 6 Beginner Guide: What to Know Before Playing

Pre-release guide · Updated November 5, 2026

Start with a few useful connections rather than trying to memorize every detail of Leonida. This guide points you toward the systems already described and the pages to return to when you begin playing.

1. Learn the two leads

Read Jason’s and Lucia’s introductions. Keep their backstories separate from assumptions about which missions each will lead.

2. Learn what the phone can help with

The phone apps guide distinguishes social browsing, vehicle scanning and transport functions. Familiarity with those tools is more useful than memorizing an unverified button chart.

3. Choose a goal

Use the story directory to follow the narrative, activities to explore between missions, or completion planning if you want to work toward a checklist.

4. Separate appearance from performance

A striking car or weapon finish does not prove a better stat. Start with the vehicle gallery and weapons guide, then use measured comparisons when they become available.

5. Avoid transferring old instructions

GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 provide useful comparisons, but their cheat inputs, mission requirements and animal routes are not GTA VI instructions. Check the relevant GTA VI page before following a familiar-looking method.