How the GTA 6 Wanted Level Works: Six Stars and a Police System That Thinks
By Luke Setzer · Updated 9/10/2026
GTA 6 restores the six star wanted level. The bigger change is underneath: police are only alerted when a crime is witnessed or caught by security, and on-screen icons show what they actually know about you, your identity, your outfit and your vehicle. The two protagonists can also split up to divide the police response.
The headline is that six stars are back, up from GTA 5's five. The headline is also the least interesting part. What changed is the logic underneath.
Last updated: 10 September 2026.
Police react to what they witness
In GTA 5, stars appeared because the game decided you had done a crime. In GTA 6, law enforcement is alerted when an offence is actually witnessed or detected by security.
That is a genuine design shift. It turns "did anyone see that" from flavour into a question with mechanical consequences, and it makes the difference between a quiet robbery and a loud one something the game actually models rather than something the cutscene tells you about.
The game shows you what they know
When you are wanted, icons display what the authorities have on you:
- your identity
- your outfit
- your vehicle
This is the part with the most depth in it. A wanted level is no longer a single number counting down. It is a set of facts the police are holding, each of which came from somewhere.
Rockstar has not published the full rules for how each one gets cleared, so be careful with any guide claiming to know exactly how to launder your appearance. What is confirmed is the framework, not the recipe.
Two protagonists, one chase
Jason and Lucia can split up to divide the police response. That turns the dual protagonist setup into a tool rather than a storytelling convenience, and it implies the police allocate resources rather than spawning endlessly at whoever the camera is following.
What this changes about how you play
GTA 5's wanted system rewarded one skill: driving away faster than the stars could follow. GTA 6's rewards a different one, controlling information.
Robberies in the Extended Look were shown with a real tradeoff, blow the safe fast and loud or work the combination slowly for more. That decision now feeds directly into the police system: loud means witnessed. Vehicle theft has security tiers, with higher tier cars needing the right equipment, which is another quiet-versus-fast decision with the same consequence.
The Criminal Profile system sits on top of all this, tracking behavioural patterns and feeding into how NPCs react to you and how the story develops. Rockstar has not detailed how far that goes, so treat the extent as unknown.
What is not confirmed
The specific clearing conditions for identity, outfit and vehicle. Whether wanted levels persist across chapters. How the Criminal Profile weights what you do. Anything you read describing exact star thresholds or precise escape mechanics is written from imagination, because the game is not out.
Related
FAQ
How many wanted level stars does GTA 6 have?
Six, up from GTA 5's five. Six stars last appeared in the older GTA games.
Do police always know it was you in GTA 6?
No. Law enforcement is alerted when an offence is witnessed or detected by security. What they know about you is shown on screen: identity, outfit, vehicle.
Can you lose a wanted level by changing clothes in GTA 6?
Rockstar has shown that the game tracks your outfit and vehicle as things the police know. The exact rules for clearing each one have not been detailed, so treat specific tactics as untested until launch.
Can Jason and Lucia split up during a chase?
Yes. Splitting the two protagonists divides the police response, which was shown in the Extended Look.