Rockstar changed the sprint button in GTA 6 after almost 25 years of tradition
Grand Theft Auto has kept one of its most recognizable control quirks for almost 25 years – sprinting by tapping a face button on the controller. Starting with GTA 3, players had to mash X or A repeatedly to get their character moving at full speed. GTA 6 ditches that setup.
Rockstar recently showed the game to a select group of outlets and content creators, and after breaking down bigger topics like driving, the relationship system between characters, and the scale of the open world, smaller gameplay details are starting to surface too. YouTuber MikeShowSha was one of those invited, and in a new Q&A video, he talked about the control scheme.
The video is entirely in Italian, but users on Reddit and social media quickly picked out the important part. According to MikeShowSha, sprinting is now activated by default with a click of the left stick – L3.
That layout has been the standard for the vast majority of shooters for well over a decade now. The system works simply enough – clicking the stick triggers a sprint, while tilting the stick to the side or letting go of it brings the character back to normal movement speed.
Tapping X or A to speed up became such a defining trait of GTA that it is nearly impossible to find a modern third-person game doing the same thing. Even in games where sprinting is tied to a face button, like most FromSoftware titles, running isn't essential to get through the game, and the button just needs to be held rather than mashed. These days, repeated button presses are mostly reserved for quick-time events, and even there, developers tend to let players hold the button instead.
The extended GTA 6 gameplay demo on Netflix showed off impressive visuals and a detailed world, but it ran at 30 frames per second, leaving players wondering about other performance options.
After the showcase, it was confirmed that the game runs at 30 FPS on consoles, and Rockstar reportedly hasn't decided yet on adding a 60 FPS option. If a performance mode does show up, it won't happen until after launch.
GTA 6 releases November 19th on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
