rockstar apparently tried a million weapon wheel alternatives for gta 6

by opOct 19, 2026, 06:40 PM
op
opAdmin
Oct 19, 2026, 06:40 PM

GTA 6 devs tried “a million” weapon wheel alternatives as struggles with RDR2 realism led some to quit

Dexerto dropped a piece about the weapon wheel in GTA 6 and it sounds like Rockstar went way down the rabbit hole on this one. The devs supposedly tested a ridiculous number of alternatives before landing on whatever we're getting. The main tension was RDR2's slower, more grounded feel versus GTA's quick arcade combat.

I remember RDR2's weapon wheel being fine for that game but it always felt a bit clunky when you were in a hurry. GTA has never been about realistic gun handling, you just want to switch to the RPG and blow up a helicopter without fumbling through menus. Rockstar clearly knows that but they also spent years building RDR2's systems, so some of that DNA probably leaked into GTA 6's early builds.

The headline says a few people actually quit over the realism push. That's wild if true. Rockstar has always had crunch and high turnover but leaving because the weapon wheel felt too much like Red Dead? I can see it though. If you're an animator or UI designer and you keep getting told to redo the same menu for the tenth time, that would wear anyone down.

What I'm curious about is whether the final wheel leans more arcade or more realistic. The trailers haven't made it obvious. Maybe they ended up with something in between, like a radial menu that's fast but still has weight to it.

Would you rather GTA 6 keep the snappy classic wheel or take some of RDR2's slower, more deliberate weapon switching?


Source: Dexerto · Curated content.

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