Guide
Your first hours in Leonida
GTA 6 changes enough of the formula that muscle memory from GTA V is actively a liability. This is what to expect from the opening, and what to unlearn.
Short answer
What should you do first in GTA 6?
The opening puts Lucia in Leonida Penitentiary and Jason in the Keys, so the first hours are on rails. Once the map opens, the three things that pay off earliest are: learning the witness system before you commit any crime in public, keeping a second vehicle so you can swap after a job, and building the bond between Jason and Lucia, because it changes story scenes later.
How the game opens
For the first time in the series, a mainline Grand Theft Auto starts a protagonist in prison. Lucia is inside Leonida Penitentiary; Jason is in the Keys, living in a trailer he rents from Brian Heder. The two strands converge.
That structure does a specific job: it introduces both characters before you have any freedom, so by the time the map opens you understand who they are and why they are working together. It also means the opening is not a sandbox — expect the first stretch to be tightly directed.
Rockstar has not said how long the opening runs. The full campaign is around 80 hours.
Key takeaways
- The story opens with Lucia in prison and Jason in the Leonida Keys.
- Some missions lock you to a single protagonist; switching is not always available.
- Money gates story progress for the first time in the series.
- Police only react when a crime is witnessed, which changes how you approach everything.
- The bond between Jason and Lucia is a system, and it alters later scenes.
Five GTA V habits to unlearn
- Do not assume a crime means a wanted level. Police respond to witnesses, not to actions. A robbery nobody sees does not start a chase — and one somebody sees starts a chase that knows what you look like.
- Do not treat escaping as the end. Losing line of sight no longer clears the situation. The scene stays an active police zone while officers search it, and they will surround a building and wait rather than storm it.
- Do not carry an armoury. The loadout is limited to a small carried set, with quick-swapping between two firearms. The GTA V habit of holding every gun at once is gone.
- Do not ignore the car. Vehicles have fuel and condition. The getaway car being identified is one of three things the police can know about you, and swapping it is the cheapest fix.
- Do not skip the partner. Spending time with the other protagonist is not flavour — it strengthens the bond, and bond strength changes certain story scenes.
Money, and why it matters this time
Money gates story progress
ConfirmedThis is new. In previous games cash was a score; here it is a requirement, which means side work and robberies are not optional content in the way they used to be. How the money system works →
Every robbery is a speed-versus-value trade
ConfirmedTaking longer inside gets you more and raises the chance somebody outside notices. With two protagonists, one can control hostages while the other works the registers — which is faster, and doubles the number of people who can identify you.
The cheapest early lesson
Wear a mask, and discard it during the getaway. Masks live in a separate item wheel and hide your face from cameras, which removes the hardest of the three police descriptions to clear. The evidence system in full →
What to do once the map opens
Find a second vehicle
Somewhere off-street. The police tracking your car is the description you will clear most often.
EarlyLearn one district properly
Vice City alone is roughly twice Los Santos. Knowing one neighbourhood's alleys beats knowing the whole state badly.
EarlyStart the gym
Workouts build muscle over time and overeating adds weight. It is a slow system, so start it early.
OngoingText your partner
Either character can text the other to spend time together. It builds the bond, which changes scenes.
OngoingWatch your criminal profile
Reputation is tracked. What you do changes how the world responds to you.
When readyTake a real score
Raul Bautista recruits for the high-risk, high-reward work. Do not start there.
Common questions
Short, direct answers. Each one links to the section above that explains it in full.
How long is GTA 6?#
The campaign runs about 80 hours. Rockstar has not published a figure for full completion.
Can you switch between Jason and Lucia freely?#
Not always. Switching is a core system, but some missions lock you to a single protagonist, and splitting up during a chase divides the police response between the two of you.
Do you need to play GTA 5 first?#
No. GTA 6 is a new story with a new cast in a new state. There is no narrative requirement to have played any previous game.
Is there an easy way to make money early in GTA 6?#
Rockstar has not detailed early-game economics. What is confirmed is that money gates story progress and that robberies trade speed against value, so the early loop is small jobs rather than one big score.
Sources
Every claim on this page traces back to one of the following. Rockstar Games newswire posts and the official Extended Look are treated as primary; everything else is labelled in-line.