Rockstar built a sweat system for GTA VI, Schreier says
Bloomberg's Jason Schreier says Rockstar told him about a system in GTA VI that makes Lucia, Jason and other characters sweat more the harder they exert themselves.
Characters in Grand Theft Auto VI will sweat according to how hard they are working. Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier shared the detail in a YouTube video released alongside his report on the game's development. He says Rockstar told him about the system directly.
According to Schreier, the system adjusts how much Lucia, Jason and other characters perspire based on their effort. His example was the nightclub: "If they're dancing extra hard in the nightclub, they will sweat more than if they are not, which I think shows you the level of detail they're putting into this game."
IGN calls it a scripted system and says it sounds like it may apply to every character in the game, so a harder workout for Jason should mean a sweatier Jason. IGN also points to a short moment in Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look, the video Rockstar released in August, where Lucia dances in a nightclub and her skin seems to glisten. IGN admits this could be the sweat system or simply the lighting. That part is speculation.
Rockstar has not made any statement of its own about the feature. For now it is secondhand, though it comes from a reporter with a strong track record on the company.
The video, titled Why Grand Theft Auto VI Took 8+ Years to Make, accompanies a report with several other findings:
- GTA VI was once planned with a bigger open world stretching across North and South America, before Rockstar scaled it back.
- IGN's reading of the Bloomberg article is that Rockstar opened a new studio in Los Angeles, staffed with writers, producers and directors, purely to make NPCs.
- Rockstar still won't say what the game cost. GamesRadar+ reports that the figure is not the rumored $1.5 billion, while IGN puts it as not more than $1.5 billion.
GamesRadar+ notes that the sweat system joins other detailed features that have already come up, including a weight gain mechanic, the weather and a carefully modelled iguana. The list of things a player can watch Jason and Lucia do apparently now includes glowing slightly on the dance floor.
IGN counts roughly eight years of full development behind the game, which it says is due out next month.
