GTA 6: Rockstar is apparently ending a 25-year-old tradition

Anyone who has played GTA 5, Red Dead Redemption 2 or older Rockstar games knows the drill: To run faster, you repeatedly mash the corresponding button. On PlayStation, that has traditionally been X, while on Xbox it's A. Since the release of GTA 3 in 2001, this habit has become firmly established over the past 25 years. With GTA 6, that could now change.

As Insider Gaming reports, citing Italian content creator MikeShowSha, who was invited by Rockstar to a hands-off preview of, sprinting will reportedly be activated via L3 by default. It remains unclear exactly how this will work. However, it seems likely that L3 will only need to be pressed once to activate sprinting. After all, this is how it works in many third-person games and first-person shooters. A more interesting question for fans may be whether Rockstar will offer alternative control schemes and give players the option to continue using X or A.

Community divided

On Reddit, the apparent change is drawing mixed reactions. Many welcome the end of constant button mashing and see the new control scheme as a long-overdue modernization. Others, however, view the old system as a trademark Rockstar feature and criticize L3 as an alternative. Controller wear, stick drift and potential issues with control precision are among the concerns mentioned most frequently.

Some players worry that frequently pressing the analog stick could accelerate wear. Others are bothered by the fact that L3 will presumably have to be pressed while moving, which could unintentionally shift the stick slightly and alter the direction of movement. Supporters, on the other hand, point out that the new control scheme would mean the thumb no longer has to constantly move between X/A and the right analog stick, potentially making it easier to control the camera while sprinting.

Sprinting in GTA 6 (available for pre-order on Amazon) via classic button mashing or by clicking the analog stick? Anyone who wants to share their opinion on the topic is welcome to do so in the comments section below.