GTA 6 devs tried “a million” weapon wheel alternatives as struggles with RDR2 realism led some to quit

Rockstar Games spent months, if not years, experimenting with alternatives to GTA 6’s weapon wheel as developers struggled to balance Red Dead Redemption 2’s realism with Grand Theft Auto’s more arcade-like gameplay.

According to Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier, GTA 6 went through a difficult development period between 2019 and 2022, when Rockstar was still trying to figure out exactly what kind of game it wanted to make.

The studio wanted to bring over many of the immersive systems from Red Dead Redemption 2, but also needed to preserve the fast-paced, chaotic gameplay that GTA is known for.

This led to internal tensions, with some developers feeling the game was making little progress. Schreier revealed that certain designers became so frustrated with the lack of direction that they ultimately left Rockstar.

One of the biggest examples of this struggle involved GTA 6’s weapon system, which underwent extensive experimentation before developers ended up right back where they started.

Rockstar Games

Rockstar tried replacing GTA 6’s weapon wheel for years

In a new YouTube video, Schreier shared previously unreleased details from his visit to Rockstar North, including conversations with development boss Rob Nelson.

According to Schreier, Rockstar wanted GTA 6 to adopt a more realistic weapon system similar to Red Dead Redemption 2, where players can only carry a limited number of guns rather than an unlimited arsenal.

However, developers worried that keeping GTA 5’s traditional weapon wheel would leave players staring at empty slots, reminding them of weapons they could no longer carry.

“And so they spent months, if not years, trying a million different things that would replace the weapon wheel,” Schreier explained.

“They tried trays and webs and all sorts of different things,” he continued, revealing that Rockstar even experimented with removing the interface entirely.

Despite all that work, the developers ultimately decided to stick with the familiar system.

“After all that, they just wound up back at a weapon wheel and in the final game it’s just a weapon wheel again,” Schreier said.

The journalist explained that these lengthy periods of experimentation contributed to GTA 6’s troubled development, with employees spending considerable time prototyping features only to abandon them.

“It wasn’t actually making progress for a long period of time and that was frustrating for people,” he said of the game’s development struggles.

Schreier added that the situation began improving around late 2022 and early 2023, when GTA 6 finally started coming together. The game’s first trailer in December 2023 reportedly helped give developers a clearer picture of what they were building.

Rockstar Games

While the weapon wheel survived, GTA 6’s weapon mechanics have undergone significant changes, including limiting how many guns players can carry and making NPCs react to openly displayed firearms.

These changes are among several Red Dead Redemption 2 features making their way into GTA 6, alongside an honor-like Criminal Profile system and Dead Eye-style gunplay.

The returning weapon wheel was also shown during GTA 6’s 27-minute Netflix Extended Look, ahead of its November 19, 2026 release.