Street and off-road racing

What Rockstar has shown

"Street & Off-Road Racing" is on the list of side activities Rockstar shared in Game Informer's cover story (IGN, VICE). An Extended Look shows three different kinds of race, which IGN counted frame by frame:

Race type	What the footage shows	Source
Street race	Six cars covered in vinyls with underglow; IGN calls it "Midnight Club-adjacent"	IGN
Circuit race	16 cars in proper GT racing trim on a purpose-built track	IGN, HotCars
Off-road race	12 vehicles in mixed classes: bikes against quad bikes and trucks, which IGN compares to MotorStorm	IGN

HotCars, looking at the same footage, picked out a tuner coupe that resembles an R34-era Nissan Skyline GT-R with a huge rear wing and graphics on nearly every panel, and dirt-bike riders racing through the countryside while spectators watch from a hillside. It is careful to add that Rockstar hasn't explained how organised racing works.

Cars, mods and racing

Racing in GTA 6 sits next to a bigger car system. IGN's preview says cars are sorted into tiers, the WAINK phone app shows a car's value and registration cost, and stolen cars lose value if they are damaged. The Ultimate Edition adds two mod shops, Rideout Customs in Vice City and One-Eyed Willie's for off-road builds, plus the '67 Vapid Dominator Buggy, pitched for the backwoods of Mount Kalaga. HotCars notes that GTA 5's car modding grew huge over the years through GTA Online's Benny's, Hao's Special Works and the LS Car Meet.

Our take: racing looks like one of GTA 6's deepest side activities, not a checklist filler. Rockstar showed three distinct formats in one video, including a 16-car circuit race on a purpose-built track, which suggests racing got real attention. For players, the open question is cost: if the best race cars need mod shop parts, whether Standard Edition owners have a mod shop will matter a lot. Our advice is to save a decent car early and keep it clean, since damaged cars lose value at fences and racers will want a good base build.

What to watch for at launch

• How races start: map markers, phone invites or street meets.
• Whether there is prize money or betting.
• Whether Standard Edition players can tune cars for racing.