GTA 6 Wanted System: Six Stars, Police Descriptions and the Criminal Profile

How the wanted system works now

The stars are still there, but what sits behind them has changed. In GTA VI the police do not simply know where you are the moment you break the law. They work from information: what you look like, what you are wearing, what you are driving and whether Jason and Lucia are together.

Most of this page comes from two official sources. One is Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look, the gameplay video Rockstar released on August 27, 2026. The other is Rob Nelson, co-studio head at Rockstar North, talking through a hands-off demo for the press. When a detail comes only from a preview attendee or an outlet's own reading of the footage, the section says so.

Six stars are back

GTA V capped the wanted meter at five stars. GTA VI goes back to six, which IGN points out is the first time since Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars in 2009.

In the Extended Look, Jason and Lucia pick up four stars during a chase, with police cars, SUVs and helicopters behind them. Shacknews describes the HUD at that moment as "four stars out of six".

What the fifth and sixth stars bring has not been shown. Earlier games sent tanks, jets and soldiers at the top level, but Shacknews notes the footage did not show anything like that, and Rockstar has not described it. Any account of a "six-star response" is a guess until the game is out.

A crime needs a witness or an alarm

Police no longer appear because the game decided you did something wrong. "The Wanted system in GTA 6 requires that someone witness the crime, or an alarm needs to be set off for it to be reported to the law," Nelson told IGN. "Our dispatch is extremely specific in what it knows."

That makes how you commit a crime matter as much as the crime itself. Nelson told The New York Times that players who rob places efficiently and destroy security footage when necessary should generally stay ahead of the law, while going in guns blazing makes the police aggressive. In IGN's demo, Jason aimed a gun at a group without firing and they ran. "If you commit a crime and run, get into trouble and move on before the cops get there, and you don't start shooting people, don't start escalating, you're generally going to be fine," Nelson said.

What the police know about you

A row of small red icons sits under the stars. Each one stands for a piece of information the police have. IGN, which watched Rockstar's demo, describes three so far:

• a person's silhouette: they have a physical description
• a clothes hanger: they know what you are wearing
• a camera: you were caught on CCTV

Nelson pointed to a fourth while playing: "You can see with these little icons on-screen, the police know what we're driving, so we should just jump out the vehicle. They also know we're a couple. You could split up, and that will also help lower the police's perception of you."

Shaking off a description

Losing the police now means making their information out of date. Nelson described it in his own words during the demo:

"[The police] know what I look like and what I'm wearing. [If I find] a pair of glasses, I'll put on this and this baseball hat. But they still know what I'm wearing, so I would need to go to a clothing store or call my personal vehicle, which has changes of outfits in the trunk."

"Changing your hair will change your appearance, but the police will still know what you are wearing, so not great if I am standing out in the open."

Heat also sticks to places. Wanted levels apply to areas of the map, and Nelson showed one still holding a star after the chase had moved on: "If I go back, they'll be hanging around for a little while." His summary of the options: "We could wait for it to die down, change our outfits, or split Jason and Lucia up."

Small accounts differ. IGN watched a baseball cap clear the description icon while the clothing icon stayed, which matches Nelson's quote. TechSpot's summary says a hat or sunglasses are not enough and only a full outfit change helps. Go with Nelson's own words until the game is out.

The Criminal ProfileUnconfirmed

Several outlets describe a second system, the Criminal Profile. TechSpot calls it Rockstar's replacement for the honor meter in Red Dead Redemption 2, and describes it as a measure of how professionally you work. In its words, robbing a store without killing anyone and getting away cleanly counts as professional, while excessive violence pulls the profile down. Dexerto says the system became clear from the Extended Look.

The finer detail comes from one preview attendee. YouTuber TGG, who went to a preview at Rockstar North, listed four labels, Professional, Aggressive, Violent and Psycho, according to Dexerto. He also reported that the profile's logo can crack and then shatter for the most destructive players, after which it stops tracking them. We have not found these labels or the shattering in Rockstar's own material, so treat them as unconfirmed.

What Nelson did say on the record, to The New York Times: "It's new for GTA, this idea of your actions having meaning in terms of how you treat your partner or how violent you are."

Details from previews onlyUnconfirmed

Everything in this section comes from a press or creator preview. It may be accurate, but each point rests on one outlet's or one person's account, and Rockstar has not confirmed it.

• Hollow stars. IGN describes a hollow wanted star, shown when the police are responding to a crime but have no information on who did it.
• Masks. IGN says it saw that masks are back and expects them to limit what witnesses can report.
• Trackers and Pay 'n' Spray. GTA Intel, relaying TGG, reports that every police car and some civilian cars carry trackers, and that Pay 'n' Spray shops return but unlock over time. GTA Intel itself calls this a single, uncorroborated account.
• Six-star search. TGG also described a full six-star wanted level as triggering a search across the whole map, again per GTA Intel.

For the cars you might be swapping between, see our confirmed vehicles guide. The Vice City page covers the city these chases mostly happen in.

More guides

• GTA 6: Everything Confirmed Before You PlayThe confirmed basics before GTA VI launches: release date, platforms, Jason and Lucia, the state of Leonida and its six regions, the named cast, the trailers so far, and what Rockstar has not said yet.
• How Long Is GTA 6? The 80-Hour Playthrough ExplainedThe only length figure from Rockstar is one developer's run. Rob Nelson of Rockstar North told The New York Times his playthrough took about 80 hours, covering the main story and some optional goals. Rockstar has not published an official main-story or 100% time.
• How to Pre-Order GTA 6: Bonuses, Pre-Load and DeadlinesYou can pre-order GTA 6 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, Rockstar Store or at participating retailers. Ordering before the November 19 or 20 cut-off gets the Vintage Vice City Pack. Pre-load opens November 12 and the game is out November 19, 2026. Below: bonuses, deadlines, when you are charged and how to cancel.
• Does GTA 6 Have Online Multiplayer?No online mode has been announced for GTA VI. The PlayStation Store, the Microsoft Store and Rockstar's own pre-order announcement all describe it as a single-player game, and neither Rockstar nor Take-Two has announced a GTA VI version of GTA Online.
• Every GTA 6 Vehicle Confirmed So FarA sourced list of every GTA VI vehicle Rockstar has named, plus the cars the press has identified in the trailers and the Extended Look, with a clear line between what Rockstar confirmed and what fans worked out.
• GTA 6 Cheats: How Cheats Work in GTA and What We Know So FarRockstar has not announced any cheat codes for GTA VI. Here is how cheats worked in every era of the series, from button combos to phone numbers, what they did to trophies and saves in GTA V, and how we will test codes after launch.