With Grand Theft Auto 6 still months away, all fans can do is obsess over any piece of information shared by recent previews of the game. One YouTuber in particular is commanding a lot of attention right now thanks to some totally new details contained in a preview he posted in late August. The personality has since posted a follow-up video answering fan questions, and one response in particular has unexpectedly riled GTA fans up.
The influencer is MikeShowSha, an Italian personality who recently uploaded a 26-minute video full of additional GTA 6 details. One viewer asked MikeShowSha how GTA 6 characters control, and if movement felt stiffer than in previous GTA games or in Red Dead Redemption 2. The YouTuber revealed that, while in previous games the player pressed a controller face button to sprint (e.g., X on a PlayStation controller), GTA 6 has the command programmed to L3, or pressing in on the left analog stick. He added that the movement felt more fluid than RDR2, and less “clunky” overall. He also clarified that his impressions were based on what he saw, since the preview was hands-off. MikeShowSha encouraged his viewers to try the game and decide for themselves, and said what he saw left him feeling optimistic.
So, why is this a big deal? Some of it comes down to a lack of information. The YouTuber did not say if the player needs to press down L3 continuously, or if they can just tap it to run. He also mentioned that the game has a ton of accessibility options, but did not specify any relating to the game’s controls. Previous Rockstar Games releases have offered different control schemes, but we don’t yet know if that will be the case for GTA 6.
If you need to hold down or click in L3 to sprint, fans fear potential long-time wear on both controllers and hands. We know that the game and its map are massive, and that it takes at least 80 hours to beat the main story without much optional content. Fans are worried the control scheme is a one-way ticket to getting stick drift.
Whether it’s tapping or holding, using L3 for movement is also harsh on the hands. If GTA 6 does implement it, it would hardly be alone: Many modern shooters resort to this control scheme. That’s also why some players are certain it’s an awful convention.
“I played a game that did that once… never again,” one GTA 6 fan said in a discussion about L3 controls. “My hand was a wreck after a few hours.”
“Holding L3 to sprint instead of tapping sounds like torture,” another said.
“I’ve had three controllers die in less than a year,” one commenter remarked, “and always after repeatedly pushing L3/R3 led to drift.”
Regardless of how GTA 6‘s controls are programmed, players aren’t doomed to wrecked wrists and dead controllers. Both PlayStation and Xbox have higher-end controllers that allow for button remapping and toggleable control schemes.
Both consoles also have system-wide accessibility options that allow for custom button assignments, but these have to be changed between games. The game itself will also continue displaying the normal button prompts, which can get confusing. Given the popularity of GTA 6, it’s likely that the average person may not know these are options to begin with.
Arguably, though, the L3 drama isn’t really a big deal — but it does go to show just how much people care about even the tiniest GTA 6 detail. On social media, discussions about control changes are getting hundreds of thousands of views and thousands of upvotes. But hey, it’s better than when everyone is suddenly decrying a big-budget game’s puddles!
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