Gameplay
GTA 6 Wanted System: 6 Stars, Star Colours & Heat Icons
GTA 6's wanted levels explained: what each of the six stars brings, white/grey/red/hollow star colours, the six heat icons (CCTV, clothes, vehicle, face, accomplice, weapon), regional police and bounties.
Updated November 8, 2026
The single biggest gameplay change in GTA 6 is how the police find you. In GTA 5 you escaped by breaking line of sight and waiting for the stars to fade. In GTA 6 the police investigate: they build a description of you, your car and your weapon, and you escape by making that description wrong.
The six wanted stars
GTA 6 brings back a sixth star — absent from GTA 5 — and every level changes how the police behave.
| Stars | Police response |
|---|---|
| ★ | Officers nearby are aware of you, but you're just another suspect in a city full of them. Pointing a gun at someone earns one star in a small area; leave it and you're clear. |
| ★★ | Police pursue and order you to pull over over the PA. Run on foot and they can call in a K9 unit. |
| ★★★ | Pursuers turn aggressive: they shoot at your tyres and attempt PIT manoeuvres. Spike strips appear. |
| ★★★★ | Heavy backup and air surveillance — helicopters make breaking contact much harder. |
| ★★★★★ | The full force of the department; you're tracked over a wide area. Driving to another neighbourhood won't save you. Prepare to fight. |
| ★★★★★★ | Statewide manhunt. Every agency in Leonida works together and there's nowhere on the map to hide. Whether the military joins in, as in the early games, is still to be seen. |
What escalates you
Escalation follows real-world logic:
- Pointing a gun at someone → low-level, local.
- Firing a gun → much more serious.
- Hitting someone → more serious again; killing officers more still.
- Carrying an assault rifle openly is a crime in itself — Jason and Lucia are known felons.
- Fleeing or firing back when ordered to stop escalates a minor stop into a pursuit.
Crucially, the game cares whether anyone actually saw you. No witness, no camera, no star.
Star colours: what the police know
Stars now have states that tell you where you stand:
| Star | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Solid white | Line of sight — they know where you are. | Break contact. |
| Grey | Police are investigating a crime; what they learn depends on the heat icons. | Remove evidence before they finish. |
| Red | They've lost you, but you're inside the search area and they're actively hunting. | Lay low or leave the area. This is your window. |
| Hollow | They know a crime happened and are on their way, but don't know it was you. | Act normal. Walk away. |
In the extended look, Lucia is so confident under hollow stars that she flips off the officers driving past to the scene.
The heat icons
Under the stars, a row of icons shows exactly what evidence the police have. Remove the evidence, remove the icon.
| Icon | Means | How to clear it |
|---|---|---|
| CCTV camera | You were recorded. | Avoid or disable cameras in advance; destroy the recording if you can. |
| Clothes hanger | Your outfit has been described. | Change clothes — at a safehouse, store, or from your car. |
| Vehicle | Your car has been identified. | Swap cars; torch the old one (a Molotov works). |
| Face / silhouette | Your appearance is known. | Wear a mask during crimes; changing hair helps over time. |
| Two silhouettes | They're looking for two suspects. | Split up — Jason and Lucia separated don't match the description. |
| Handgun | The weapon used is known. | Ditch it. Walking around with the weapon from the crime links you to it. |
In the extended look, after a chase, Jason and Lucia drive into a parking structure, burn the car and swap into a van — the vehicle icon disappears and cruisers drive straight past them.
Regional police and bounties
Each region has its own police department — Vice City PD, Leonard County, Ambrosia PD, Capri and more — and wanted levels are tracked per region. Get hot in Vice City, and you might be able to cool off in Port Gellhorn. A persistent, bounty-style record follows you across regions, much like Red Dead Redemption 2, and at six stars all agencies cooperate statewide.
Spotting police
Police are no longer dots on the mini-map. Watch for warnings at the edge of the screen and use focus to pick out officers through walls. Listen for sirens and helicopter rotors.
How police tactics have changed
- Realistic escalation. At low levels, officers chase you on foot and order you to stop — like GTA 4 — instead of opening fire.
- K9 units can tackle and pin you.
- Spike strips at night are easy to miss: in one demo, a motorcycle blew a tyre and threw Jason and Lucia over the handlebars.
- Tyre shots and PIT manoeuvres from three stars.
- Stolen cars with trackers keep reporting their location until a fence blocks the signal.
- Car owners report thefts, adding fresh heat after the fact.
- Police cruisers have gear in their trunks — shotgun and body armour — if you're bold enough to help yourself while officers are busy.
Getting caught
If you're busted or killed, you lose some or all of the cash on hand. Bank balances are safe. Bank often — see money and economy.
Frequently asked questions
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