As we near the end of this generation of video game consoles, the hype is real for Grand Theft Auto VI’s release. Everything points to a similar situation as in 2013: new console releases meant a new GTA game. We’ve been deprived of fresh GTA experiences long enough, and the next one should be here within the next few years.

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Still, everything about the game is hope and conjecture at this point, so nothing can be said with absolute certainty. We can be confident, however, that Rockstar will remain true to the franchise formula while making changes and additions where they can. Let's take a look at some aspects of the series that are likely to remain intact in the new game, along with some others that will probably change and evolve.

10 Same: Wanted Level

Whether rumors of the game featuring undercover cops are true or not, you can be darn sure that the iconic wanted system will remain. You might just find yourself wanted by criminals, too, if things are really getting spiced up.

Being a criminal comes with the territory in this series, and you’ll be in for a lot of those car chases that GTA featured prominently since GTA III. Most likely, the wanted level will only be amplified by having more cops and advanced agents chasing you when you reach that five-star level.

9 Same: Having An Open World

You can also bet that the new game will boast a vast open world to explore. Every Rockstar game of late has featured a vast world for the player, and there is zero chance of GTA 6 denying people this opportunity.

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Rather than taking out the open world feature, Rockstar will instead fill it up even more with an abundance of locales for you to visit when you’re not on a mission. GTA VI is bound to feature a unique world for you to sink your teeth into. If you have any reservations that it might be a linear game, then cast those doubts aside now.

8 Change: The Scale Of The Open World

Yes, this will change for the better – there’s no doubt about that. Red Dead Redemption 2 solidified the trend that Rockstar is looking to make world maps larger in scale with every new game released, and GTA VI is going to dwarf even that game's ambitious world by comparison.

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As with Los Santos in GTA V, the new world here will most likely see one city as the main focus, but this city will be huge in scale. Rockstar won’t drop you in a world with nothing to do, either, and you can be certain that the city will have hundreds of places to explore like metropolitan areas and rural landscapes.

7 Same: An Expansive Online Mode

GTA V’s shelf life was expanded by several years when Rockstar introduced Grand Theft Auto Online, and this feature is still being played by fans to this day with no signs of letting up. The only thing that will take interest away from this game is the online mode that will be offered up in GTA VI.

There’s no way Rockstar will make this game a simple single-player journey, not when it has proven to be extremely profitable for them to add in online functionality. Instead of online being removed, you can expect it to be far richer in variety compared to the mode we have at the moment.

6 Same: Those Awesome Cars

Most of the people playing Grand Theft Auto don’t have real-life versions of their in-game garages, and these beauties add something to strive for into the mix. Even cars from GTA III looked fine back in the day, and later entries in the series boasted some stunning vehicles.

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GTA VI will see these gorgeous vehicles return for you to drool over, and the customization option will return as well. So, you can expect to see many more of these rad cars to steal, buy and drive, including all-new ones.

5 Same: The Health System

Many AAA games in the last ten years have mostly removed the health system, in favor of a mechanic that regenerates health after a few seconds. Where GTA is considered, though, that’s not going to happen.

The series prides itself on having health packs to pick up (and food), and these are the best things to use when a player goes on a random path of destruction. The fun will be taken out of these sequences if we’re expected to crouch in one corner and wait for our health to replenish, and Rockstar probably won’t be removing the health bar system any time soon.

4 Change: The Setting

If you became too comfortable with the Los Santos setting of GTA V, you’d better be prepared for a world of change here. GTA VI is set to feature a completely new setting. If trends are to be believed, it’s high time for a return to Vice City, which we haven’t seen since 2006 (on the PSP of all systems).

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Vice City has already skipped two generations of consoles and is poised to see a complete renovation, as with GTA IV’s Liberty City and GTA V’s Los Santos. If --in a surprising curveball-- Rockstar doesn’t go with Vice City, you can still be certain we’ll be visiting an entirely new setting rather than previously-tread ground.

3 Same: Side Missions

Side missions go way back in the Grand Theft Auto series, and these have only been made more important as increasingly large worlds were introduced. The side missions in GTA V in particular felt like story modes of their own, and GTA VI will continue this trend.

We’ll be seeing more of the “Strangers & Freaks” missions that randomly pop up like an unannounced gift on the map, and new supporting characters will definitely be handing out additional side missions that complement the main storyline. The quantity of side missions might increase, but there’s no way these will be removed.

2 Same: Easter Eggs

Grand Theft Auto IV felt like an easter egg machine when it first came out, as there were several places for you to discover that weren’t readily available, pointing towards previous games in the series. GTA V also had these easter eggs;  players spent hours on end following rumors, obscure hints and breadcrumb trails.

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GTA VI will undoubtedly add in hundreds of potential easter eggs, as the larger map will be able to accommodate untold secrets. We might even see the return of the frightening heartbeat found in the Statue of Happiness in GTA IV.

1 Change: Platforms To Play On

There’s no way Rockstar would skip ninth generation consoles for GTA VI. If you want to put your bets in, you’d have a better shot wagering against releases on eighth generation consoles rather than the next ones.

What we can be certain of is playing a copy of Grand Theft Auto VI on our PlayStation 5 consoles in the future. People with consoles of this generation shouldn’t fret, though, as GTA VI will also be coming for these systems too: Rockstar would never pass up a consumer base that has reached about 200 million users in the current console market. The ones using seventh generation consoles, though, will be left out for GTA VI.

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