World Systems — Wanted Level, Switching & Safehouses

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The Wanted System

The classic star-based Wanted system returns, appearing largely familiar to past games: crimes draw attention, attention raises your star level, and higher star levels bring more heavily armed police response.

What's new is how the system reacts to appearance and behavior specifically. The Wanted system now tracks what a player is wearing and what vehicle they're driving, not just their actions — meaning changing your look or your car mid-chase can genuinely affect police response, not just serve as flavor.

Simultaneous Dual-Character Control

Both Jason and Lucia are confirmed as playable, and the two are not always physically together — players move between their separate lives as well as missions where they operate as a team. Rockstar demonstrated character switching both mid-mission and when the pair are apart, including one sequence transitioning from Lucia parachuting through Vice City directly into Jason's current activity elsewhere in the world.

During team sequences, such as a police pursuit, one character can handle driving while the other manages a separate task, like engaging pursuers directly.

Safehouses

Safehouses are more involved than the basic properties used in previous GTA games, taking inspiration from the camp system in Red Dead Redemption 2. Jason and Lucia follow their own routines at a safehouse, can interact with the property itself, and may encounter other characters who visit.

Personal Customization

Players can shorten or shave existing hair and facial hair at home, while a completely different hairstyle requires visiting a barber or salon. Different clothing stores carry their own distinct stock and customization options.

Robbery & Disguise Systems

Disguises and getaway vehicle choice directly affect how police react during a robbery, tying the game's crime systems directly into the Wanted mechanic described above rather than treating them as separate systems. Combined with the vehicle storage system, players can prepare for a job and change appearance mid-escape.

This connects closely to the combat and weapon-carrying system — the same trunk storage used for disguise changes also holds excess weapons players can't carry on foot.