By Kotaku | Created at 2026-09-02 18:06:50 | Updated at 2026-09-02 18:57:37
56 minutes ago
Grand Theft Auto 6 is making a lot of changes to the franchise, like making players fill up cars with gas and adding a relationship system between Jason and Lucia. But a tiny change to how sprinting works might end up being the most important if you don’t feel like tapping a button 10,000 times while playing for hours and hours. And while a lot of people are happy about this tweak, plenty of GTA fans online are mad about it, too.
Last week, Rockstar Games unveiled a nearly 30-minute-long gameplay trailer for GTA 6. It was filled with new details to spot. But the studio also invited a select number of content creators and press to check out the game and ask Rockstar devs questions about GTA 6. And we’ve learned a lot more about the upcoming open-world crime sim from these creators and reporters, including the fact that Rockstar is ditching the controversial “tap a button over and over to sprint” mechanic seen in most of its games since 2004’s Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
The video link will show you the moment he says it https://t.co/oPeE4i01XJ
— ᴛeo🌴 (@Mattdek_) September 1, 2026
This information comes from YouTuber Mikeshowsha, who revealed that while he was at Rockstar North to check out GTA 6, the studio confirmed that to sprint, players now just click the left stick.
This is, of course, how sprinting works in most modern video games. But in many Rockstar Games, including non-GTA titles like Red Dead Redemption, players mashed X or A, depending on the console, to sprint. The faster you mashed it, the faster your character moved. While it made running from the cops more challenging, it also made it awkward to turn the camera while sprinting. In fact, when I play GTA Online, I often use my pointer finger to mash the X button while holding the controller. But in GTA 6, it sounds like I won’t have to do this weird claw move anymore to move fast and look around me. Nice.
“Actually shocked, spamming X to sprint has been one of the biggest thorns in my side when it comes to Rockstar games. So glad they’re changing it,” shared one fan on Reddit in a thread filled with others thankful for the tweak.
The fans who want to mash X to run in GTA
However, while a lot of fans, myself included, are happy to see Rockstar ditching the tap-to-run system it has used in games for over two decades, not everyone is happy about it. Some are calling it the “End of an era!” and others are mourning the loss while hoping Rockstar lets them turn tapping to sprint faster on via an option in the settings of GTA 6.
“Am I the only one who likes tapping A to run?” asked one person on social media. “I hope you can change that in settings.”
“Prefer the tapping mechanic for sprinting. Hope they let us customise the controls,” posted one fan on Twitter.
When someone asked why they preferred tapping a button hundreds of times over clicking L3, another user replied: “Immersion.”
Other people shared their reasons for why they liked hitting a button over and over to run.
“It allows for change of pace because you can go slower or faster depending on how fast you press it,” explained one user.
“Bc dats how I known to play a GTA game for over 20+ years,” said another fan.
“I like tapping X and A. I hope there’s button mapping, and it’s been tradition to tap since San Andreas. I’m honestly a little disappointed,” shared someone on Twitter.
Some fans also were worried that this would remove the granular speed options found in other Rockstar Games.
“Terrible decision, this means you can either walk or run, with no direct way to control your movement speed,” posted a fan. “Tapping X is also more immersive cause it makes you feel the weight of the character.”
I’ll be curious to see if the full game includes an option to turn tap-to-sprint back on. Keep in mind that in GTA 5, Rockstar did include an option to hold X to sprint and even included an L3 sprint-control setup for when playing in first-person. So it’s very likely GTA 6 will also ship with some controller configuration options that let you change how sprint works.
Personally, when GTA 6 arrives in November on consoles, I’ll be leaving tap-to-sprint off forever, as I’m ready to unlearn decades of muscle memory and never think about tapping X to sprint again.
