Expectations are sky-high for the eventual release of Grand Theft Auto 6. Rockstar Games has yet to confirm any of its plans for the next chapter of its open-world crime adventure, but rumors about returning to GTA: Vice City have been circulating online for years. Fans are undeniably excited for the potential modern revival of one of the franchise's most beloved installments. But Rockstar should bring back the Gang Warfare system from GTA: San Andreas to make GTA 6 truly feel like a living, breathing virtual world.
The Gang Warfare side missions in San Andreas let players expand the Grove Street's influence across Los Santos. This required protagonist Carl Johnson to fight other rival gangs, like the Aztecas and the Ballas, to control their turf, although a majority of the game's map remained unconquerable. Still, players fought for disputed territory by taking on waves of enemy gangsters that would result in more income for the Grove Street Families. Rockstar could use the power of next-generation consoles to transform this San Andreas mini-game into a defining part of GTA 6's open world.
Vast portions of GTA 6's map should be sectioned off as the home turf of Vice City's rival criminal organizations, like the Haitians and Vice City Bikers. The NPCs in the game could be designed with artificial intelligence that guides them to slowly expand a gang's territory by setting up outposts or constantly patrolling an area. The next Grand Theft Auto protagonist should have a reputation meter with each of GTA 6's gangs, one that begins as neutral and can become friendly or hostile depending on players' actions.
GTA 6 Needs A Next-Gen Gang Warfare Feature
From the start of Grand Theft Auto 6, players could learn about what the Vice City gangs have to offer. For example, helping the Forelli Crime Family (if they still have a foothold in Vice City during whatever time period GTA 6 takes place in) might get them substantially better prices in stores because the organization runs a protection racket. On the other hand, joining forces with the Cubans will let players profit from Vice City's booming drug trade and perhaps allow them to access special boats or helicopters for missions. Much like in Mafia 3, allying with one group could hurt the main character's reputation with opposing gangs, so players will need to balance who they choose to work with, being careful not to burn bridges and make certain parts of Vice City's map hostile.
Finally, players' rapport with certain factions should influence how GTA 6's ending plays out. This could be something as simple as, say, if the protagonist aligned with the Haitians for the extent of the campaign, they would be asked to assassinate the head of the rival Cuban gang by the end of Grand Theft Auto 6. This would expand on the alternate ending ideas used in GTA 5, and could perhaps be more like how RPGs like Fallout 4 incorporated its diverse factions into its conclusion. An improved Gang Warfare feature like this would make every playthrough of Grand Theft Auto 6 feel different from the last, giving fans of single-player GTA gameplay a lot of content to enjoy.