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GTA VI heists: the job that opens the story

Rockstar has confirmed two things about heists in GTA VI: the story opens with one that goes wrong, and among the supporting cast there's an experienced bank robber, Raul Bautista, hunting for people ready to take the risks of his scores. About a heist system with planning, it has said nothing. What can be explained in full is how GTA V's worked, which is the template everyone has in mind.

Jason and Lucia armed beside a safe

What's confirmed about GTA VI's heist

The story's starting point is a failed heist that forces Jason and Lucia to protect each other: that comes from the official presentation of the game. Raul Bautista's profile describes him as an experienced bank robber looking for someone willing to run his risks. Rockstar has not confirmed that a heist mechanic exists with setups, a hireable crew or a split of the take, nor whether the opening heist is playable or a cutscene.

How a GTA V heist worked

A GTA V heist began at a board in the safehouse, photos and string included, where you chose between two approaches: subtle or loud. Each approach opened its own list of setup missions (steal a van, get masks, a helicopter, a getaway vehicle) and only then came the score itself. Picking the plan wasn't cosmetic: it changed the setups, the weapons worth carrying, the escape route and how the heist itself played out.

The crew and their cut of the take

On the same board you hired drivers, gunmen and hackers, each with a skill level and a percentage of the take. A cheap hacker bought you less time inside the vault; a rookie driver made a worse escape. The ones who survived gained experience and came back better on the next score, even as their cut rose. That trade between saving money and taking a risk is what turned the pick into a decision, and it's what gets copied whenever people describe a heist system.

The scores in GTA V's campaign

The campaign held five heists (The Jewel Store Job, The Merryweather Heist, The Paleto Score, The Bureau Raid and The Big Score), plus the playable Ludendorff prologue, which is also a heist and doubles as the tutorial. The last one pays out the millions and is the one that changes most depending on the approach you choose.

From solo score to co-op: GTA Online

Co-op heists reached GTA Online in March 2015, a year and a half after the game launched. They required four players, a high-end apartment for the host, and setup missions the host paid for out of pocket before earning anything. The Doomsday Heist and the Diamond Casino Heist followed, and in December 2020 the Cayo Perico Heist became the first one completable solo. Rockstar has announced nothing about GTA VI's multiplayer.

What changes with two leads sharing a wallet

In GTA V the take was split across three protagonists with separate accounts, and that separation was part of the game. In GTA VI it's confirmed that Jason and Lucia share money, so a split between them stops making sense as a mechanic. That this pushes towards heists with both inside the same score, switching on the fly, is OUR EXPECTATION: it fits the mid-mission switch that is confirmed, but Rockstar hasn't framed it that way.

The heist lists already going around

There are pages and videos listing names, targets and even the running order of GTA VI's heists. None of it comes from a Rockstar communication: they're reconstructions built from the trailers, from the 2022 leaked material and from assumptions about the GTA V template. As community theory they're interesting; as fact they're worth nothing, and they aren't published here as though they were.

Frequently asked questions

Will GTA VI have heists?
The story opens with a failed heist (that much is confirmed) and there's a bank robber among the revealed characters. Going from there to a full heist system with setups and a hireable crew like GTA V's is a leap Rockstar hasn't made yet.
How many heists are in GTA V's campaign?
Five heists in the main story, plus the playable Ludendorff prologue, which is one too. Each is played with an approach chosen from two and with the crew you hire at the safehouse board.
Will you be able to run heists with friends in GTA VI?
There's no announcement at all about GTA VI's multiplayer. In GTA Online co-op heists arrived in 2015, needed four players, and only in 2020, with Cayo Perico, could one be run solo. That's in-house history, not a promise.
Can you choose the plan and the crew on a heist?
In GTA V, yes: two approaches per heist and a hireable crew with different skill levels and cuts. Rockstar has confirmed nothing similar for GTA VI.
Do you lose money when a heist goes wrong?
In GTA Online's co-op heists, yes: the host pays for the setups up front and that spending doesn't come back if the finale fails. In GTA V's campaign what you lose on failure is the attempt, restarting from the last checkpoint.
Is GTA VI's opening heist playable?
Not confirmed. Rockstar says the story starts with a heist gone wrong, but hasn't said whether you play it, whether it's a cutscene, or whether it happens before the point where your game begins.

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