rdr2's npc system shaped gta 6 but it almost didn't get pitched

GamesRadar just ran a piece about how a core RDR2 system ended up being the basis for GTA 6's NPCs, and apparently it almost never saw the light of day because of an ambitious studio head. The quote they pulled is wild:

"This will revolutionize the way our games and our worlds work"

I keep thinking about how different GTA 6 might have been if that pitch never happened. RDR2's NPCs had routines, reactions, conversations, all that stuff that made the world feel alive. If that system was nearly cut, we might be looking at a much flatter Leonida. The article says it provided the basis for how GTA 6's NPCs work, so the DNA is clearly there.

It's funny how much of GTA 6's identity seems to trace back to RDR2's guts. The animal AI, the interaction prompts, the way NPCs remember you. I'm not saying GTA 6 will have exactly the same systems, but when a studio head has to fight to get something pitched and then it ends up shaping the next game, that's the kind of behind the scenes stuff I love hearing about.

Glad whoever it was didn't give up. The best parts of a game sometimes come from someone refusing to let an idea die in a meeting.

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Source: GamesRadar+ · Curated content.