Will GTA 6 have more traffic and NPCs on the roads?

Rockstar has blessed us all with a ton more information on GTA 6 after the Extended Look, and we’re able to paint a far more complete picture now of what awaits us in their latest title. So if you’re interested in whether GTA 6 will have more traffic and more NPCs, we can answer that quite definitively now.

Here’s what’s in store for us.

Will GTA 6 Have More Cars on the Road?

Jason and Lucia driving past a line of standing cars on the road during the Extended Look at GTA 6. — Image via Rockstar Games

Yes, GTA 6 looks to be the most traffic-dense GTA title to date, beating GTA 5 out by a fair bit. We can clearly see this in the Extended Look from the 8:25 mark, as Jason drives to the meeting with Brian. There are tons of other cars on the road, forming pretty hefty lines at traffic lights.

If you were to follow the rules of the road in GTA 6, getting anywhere looks like it’s going to be quite the slog.

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What we can’t answer for now, but what we certainly suspect, is that traffic may work on a schedule and be denser during rush hours and lighter during the early hours of the morning, for example. This is based on the way AI operated in the game and on patents, but has not been outright confirmed yet.

If the traffic is as dynamic as that, hitting a heist at rush hour will surely complicate getting away from the police. We’ll need to plan extra carefully.

What also hasn’t been confirmed is whether traffic will have hotspots, getting heavier in the city and lighter out on the country roads. However, GTA 5 has this to some extent, so we can fully expect GTA 6 to follow suit with something even more realistic.

Will NPC Density be Higher in GTA 6?

Jason eating a snack with a bunch of NPCs in the background. — Image via Rockstar Games

Again, we can answer yes here. During the same section mentioned above, we see a fair bit more NPCs on the sidewalk than what you usually would in GTA 5. Just after this scene, when Jason leaves the store with a snack, we can see quite a few NPCs behind him as well.

Furthermore, we have the previews, in which multiple people have commented that the NPC density feels higher. I must say, however, that it doesn’t feel like a significant increase based on what we have seen so far. However, those who saw live gameplay at Rockstar North likely saw much more of the city, including hotspots where NPC density will be much higher naturally.

For now, we know it will be denser. By how much? We’ll soon find out.

If you’ve got more questions about GTA 6, check out whether NPCs will carry guns and whether GTA 6 will have multiple endings.