GTA 6 says goodbye to a feature nobody asked for
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GTA 6 is finally changing something that has been a part of the series for more than two decades. If you have played GTA 5, Red Dead Redemption 2 or any of the older Rockstar games, you probably know exactly what I am talking about. Running around the map has always meant repeatedly pressing a button to make your character sprint. It has been a part of the Rockstar experience for years, but it has also been one of those mechanics that has always been frowned upon by gamers across the world. Now, GTA 6 might just be leaving this system behind and adopting a more familiar way of sprinting. Read on to know more.
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GTA 6 is getting rid of the old sprinting system
According to Italian content creator MikeShowSha, who was invited to a hands-off preview of GTA 6 by Rockstar, the game will reportedly use the L3 button to sprint. This means players will be able to click the left analogue stick instead of repeatedly pressing the face button to make Jason or Lucia run faster.
For PlayStation players, that old system meant repeatedly pressing X, while Xbox players had to keep pressing A. It has been this way since GTA 3, which means Rockstar is apparently moving away from a control system that has been around for roughly 25 years.
The change might sound small, but it could make moving around in GTA 6 feel quite different. The traditional button-mashing system has always felt a little unusual compared to most modern third-person games, where clicking the analogue stick is generally used to activate sprinting.
It could also make controlling the camera while running a little easier. With the old system, your thumb constantly had to move between the face button and the right analogue stick if you wanted to change your direction or camera angle while sprinting. Using L3 could make this feel more natural since your left thumb is already controlling movement.
That said, it is still unclear whether Rockstar will allow players to switch back to the old controls. The reported L3 system is said to be the default, but Rockstar could potentially offer alternative control schemes for players who have spent years playing GTA with the traditional setup.
Some GTA fans are not happy about the change
While plenty of players are likely to welcome the change, the GTA community is not completely united on it. For some fans (who are talking about the feature on Reddit), the old sprinting system has simply become part of what makes a Rockstar game feel like a Rockstar game.
There are also concerns around using L3 for sprinting. Since the analogue stick is already being used for movement, clicking it while running could potentially cause the stick to move slightly and affect the direction of the character. Some players have also raised concerns about repeatedly pressing the analogue stick and the effect that could have on controller wear and stick drift.
At the same time, others see this as a long-overdue change. Having to repeatedly press X or A just to run has never been the most comfortable system, especially when you are spending a lot of time travelling around a massive open world.
For now, Rockstar has not officially confirmed the control change, so it is worth treating this information with a pinch of salt. However, if the hands-off preview details are accurate, one of the series’ oldest control quirks is finally about to disappear.
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