GTA 6: 15 Things to Do First (What to Expect at Launch)

GTA 6 has not launched yet, and Rockstar has not shipped a "start of the game" walkthrough. But between two full trailers, a wave of official screenshots, and 25 years of GTA launch habits, a clear picture of the opening hours is starting to form. Here is what we expect you will want to do first when Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos land in Vice City on November 19, 2026 - based on confirmed details, not leaks.

What do we actually know about the GTA 6 opening hours?

Rockstar has confirmed the basics: two playable protagonists, Jason and Lucia, a story inspired by outlaw couples like Bonnie and Clyde, and a home base in the Leonida Keys where the pair do favors and shakedowns for a loan shark named Brian. Beyond that, Rockstar has not detailed mission order or an exact "first hour." Everything below is a reasonable expectation built from the trailers, the screenshots, and how the last three GTA games opened - treat it as a preparation list, not a walkthrough.

The essentials:

• GTA 6 launches November 19, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S only at first.
• You play as Jason and Lucia, switching between them once the story allows it.
• The map covers Vice City and five other confirmed regions of the state of Leonida.
• Expect character customization, a redesigned weapon wheel, and satchel-style inventory from the first hours.
• Over 200 vehicles have already been confirmed, including boats and aircraft.

1. Sit through the opening cutscenes properly

Every mainline GTA since San Andreas has opened with a tightly directed cutscene sequence that sets up the whole plot. For GTA 6 that almost certainly means Jason picking Lucia up after her stint in Leonida Penitentiary. Do not skip it - Rockstar's openings tend to plant details (names, locations, a rival or two) that pay off dozens of hours later.

2. Customize Jason and Lucia's look early

Wardrobe and appearance customization is confirmed, reportedly accessible from Jason's safehouse and other locations around Vice City. In past games this only got more useful as more clothing stores unlocked, so it is worth popping into the menu early just to see what is available and how the system works before you are mid-mission.

3. Learn the new weapon wheel before your first shootout

GTA 6's weapon wheel reportedly splits into three categories - weapons, gear, and equipment - closer to Red Dead Redemption 2 than to GTA 5. Combined with a satchel-style carry limit and vehicle trunk storage for spare guns, it changes how you prep for a job. Cycle through it in a quiet moment rather than during your first firefight.

4. Explore your immediate neighborhood on foot

Before jumping in a car, walk a few blocks. Rockstar's open worlds hide most of their personality in small touches - shopfronts, pedestrian chatter, background radio, wildlife - and the Vice City area shown in the trailers is dense with it. It also helps you get a feel for the new movement and cover animations before you need them under pressure.

5. Steal (or buy) a fast car and a durable one

The classic GTA advice still applies: keep one light, fast vehicle for getting away clean, and one tougher vehicle for jobs that turn into a fight. GTA 6 has already shown off sports cars, pickup trucks, and off-road vehicles across the trailers, and with a map built around swamps, keys, and highways, you will want options for different terrain.

6. Take a boat or jet ski out on the water

Water traversal looks like a bigger part of GTA 6 than in any previous entry, with the Leonida Keys and Grassrivers built around it. The trailers showcase speedboats and jet skis prominently. Getting comfortable on the water early matters more here than it did navigating the Los Santos coastline in GTA 5.

7. Try flying something small

Rockstar has shown helicopters and small planes in both trailers. If GTA 6 follows GTA 5's structure, a flight school or equivalent training activity is a likely way to get comfortable with aircraft controls before a mission demands them under pressure.

8. Check what your phone can do

GTA 6 is set in a modern, phone-native world, and Rockstar's marketing has leaned into in-game apps and digital tools for managing contacts and picking up side jobs. Get in the habit of checking it early - in GTA 5 and GTA Online, the phone became the hub for almost everything outside of missions.

9. Do the early debt-collection and shakedown work

Jason and Lucia reportedly pay their way in the Keys by collecting debts and running small shakedowns for Brian. These early, low-stakes jobs are the likely on-ramp into the wider criminal plot, similar to how GTA 5 used Franklin's repo work to introduce Los Santos.

10. Practice switching between Jason and Lucia

The dual-protagonist structure is central to GTA 6's story, and Rockstar has said their dynamic shifts depending on how missions are approached. Once switching unlocks, get used to it early - in GTA 5, fluently swapping between Michael, Franklin, and Trevor mid-mission was often the difference between a clean getaway and a restart.

11. Visit a gun store to see the full arsenal

With more than 30 confirmed weapons spanning handguns, rifles, shotguns, snipers, launchers, and melee weapons, an early trip to whatever GTA 6's Ammu-Nation equivalent turns out to be is worth it just to see what you are working with before it matters in a fight.

12. Drive out toward the edge of the map

If GTA 6's map really is close to twice the size of GTA 5's, as widely estimated from the confirmed regions, a lot of the early game's value is simply in the drive. Push out toward Mount Kalaga, Port Gellhorn, or Ambrosia early to get a sense of scale before the story funnels you into denser city missions.

13. Save your progress the moment you get a safehouse

This sounds obvious, but every GTA has had at least one player horror story about losing hours of progress. As soon as a safehouse or save point is available, use it - especially before trying anything risky, like the bank robbery sequence teased in the second trailer.

14. Keep an eye out for side content

GTA 5 buried Strangers and Freaks missions, random encounters, and collectibles all over Los Santos, and they were consistently some of the best-written content in the game. GTA 6's much larger map and modern setting suggest Rockstar has room for even more of this - it is worth detouring for anything that looks like a random encounter rather than beelining to the next story marker.

15. Decide whether you are playing solo first or diving into GTA Online 2

Rockstar is expected to bring online multiplayer back at or shortly after launch, reportedly under a new "GTA Online 2" banner with larger lobbies. If that lands close to release, you will want to decide early whether to finish the story first or split time with friends, since progress and unlocks in the two modes are unlikely to fully overlap.

Should you play on day one or wait?

If you plan to jump in at launch, the console prep checklist is worth running through beforehand - storage space and a stable connection matter more than ever with a map this size. It is also worth deciding in advance which edition to buy, since bonus content and early-access windows differ between them.

For more on the world you are stepping into, see our breakdowns of Jason and Lucia, where GTA 6 is set, and the full map of Leonida. And if money is on your mind before you even start, our guide to making money fast in GTA 6 covers the methods we expect to work based on GTA 5's economy.

None of this is a walkthrough - Rockstar has not published one, and anyone claiming otherwise before November 19, 2026 is guessing or worse, drawing on leaked material we will not touch. Treat this list as a way to walk in prepared, not a script to follow.