GTA 6's Insane Detail: Rockstar Created a Whole Scripted System Just for Sweat

Rockstar Games is renowned for its meticulous attention to detail, with past Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption titles setting new standards for realism. But GTA 6 appears poised to surpass every video game before it, featuring a dedicated system that governs how much characters sweat.

In a new video accompanying his article on the making of GTA 6 published this week, Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier revealed that Rockstar told him about a scripted system in the game that makes dual protagonists Jason and Lucia — or seemingly any character — sweat differently based on how much effort they're exerting in any given activity.

For instance, in a nightclub, Lucia will sweat more if she's dancing energetically. Likewise, the harder Jason works out, the more he'll perspire. We might have already glimpsed GTA 6's sweat system in action. In the Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look video released in August, we briefly see Lucia dancing in a nightclub, and her skin has a noticeable sheen that suggests she's sweating. Or perhaps it's just a trick of the light.

This showcases the incredible level of detail in GTA 6 — far beyond any video game ever made — but it also helps explain why the game took so long to develop (eight years of proper development work) and why it cost so much to make (not more than $1.5 billion, but undoubtedly the most expensive video game of all time).

Indeed, as the Bloomberg article reveals, Rockstar established a new studio in Los Angeles staffed with writers, producers, and directors, solely to create NPCs.

GTA 6 has endured several high-profile delays, each publicly attributed to Rockstar's quest for video game perfection. When you hear about the sweat that's poured into it, you begin to understand what this will actually look like when the game itself launches.

With GTA 6 out next month, we've got plenty more for you to dive into, including our in-depth interview with Rockstar North's Rob Nelson in full, our report on what sounds like the end of Cyberleek, and some of the unusual marketing Rockstar has put in place.