GTA 6 will have a major improvement in water quality

A recent Twitter leak is suggesting that Rockstar will update water physics to the most realistic level ever in Grand Theft Auto 6. Rockstar has been at the forefront of this element for years and the highly anticipated next Rockstar open world PC game will be greatly upgraded in terms of graphics, gameplay and story.

It's been nearly five years since Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar's last game. The studio has yet to reveal any information about the development of GTA 6. Most of what fans of Rockstar's open-world game have heard is a leak.

Rockstar intends to make a big splash with GTA 6

Rockstar employee Aleix Venturas recently lifted the curtain on what the engineering team is working on for the upcoming expansion updates to Rockstar's RAGE engine. This engine will take an ambitious and epic game like GTA 6 and turn it into a new technological pinnacle for gaming, RAGE is inspired by NVIDIA Wave Works.

Leaks suggest that the engine will represent a significant step up from the current GTA 5 water standard, which was used in previous titles Subnautica and Sea of ​​Thieves. The RAGE engine previously handled industry-leading water simulations in GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2, both of which demonstrated spectacularly fast and immersive water physics.

NVIDIA's WaveWorks shows how expensive it can be to perfect physics in games. Leave it to the big AAA studios who can do it to improve the physics of their games, and Rockstar seems to be prioritizing it with GTA 6. Years later, when the game is out and the tools needed to improve water effects are more widely available.

GTA 6 could be the first game to feature multiple underwater environments

There are exceptions, but for the most part, water in games still exists in its basic form. When the player dives underwater, you can change the character's movement, vision, and gravity. But few games bother to simulate the feeling of moving underwater.

The water in the game often creates ripples and splashes, but the water the player jumps into remains relatively static for the most part. Rockstar plans to change this in more detail, and while information regarding this upgrade only exists in the form of leaked information, the leap in quality between GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 in terms of simulating the surface tension of water sets the pace for what its next game will entail.

While fans wait for more information about GTA 6, Rockstar is biding its time until the game is ready for official information. GTA Online continues to be a money-maker, and it will commit to revenue for the next game and new tools to enhance the game. The studio is creating something that it hopes will be timeless. Despite the near-impossible standards that gamers expect from GTA 6, Rockstar is still preparing the best for GTA 6.

Isabella Humphrey

Update 06 May 2025