GTA 6 wanted level explained: six stars, four police icons, and how to lose them

Grand Theft Auto VI's wanted meter tops out at six stars, one more than GTA V and the first six-star system since GTA IV in 2008. Everything in this story comes from An Extended Look, the 26-minute gameplay showcase Rockstar premiered on August 27, 2026, and from Rockstar North's Rob Nelson talking through it; nothing comes from leaks. The full guide goes level by level.

Crimes have to be seen

The biggest change is at the start. In GTA V the stars lit the instant you did something wrong. In GTA 6 the game first checks whether anyone saw it: a bystander with a phone, a shop alarm, a passing patrol. Smash a window on an empty back road and the meter stays empty. Nelson's words were that the system "requires that someone witness the crime."

Four leads, four icons

Next to the stars sit four icons showing what the police have on you: the vehicle they saw you in, your clothes, your face, and whether you are with a partner. Each lit icon is a lead they can match against. Each one you remove goes dark. In the showcase, jumping into a car the police had not seen cleared the vehicle icon and a patrol unit drove straight past.

Jason and Lucia can split up

Because the partner icon is a lead, separating is an escape tool. Nelson says that when the police know they are chasing a pair, splitting up reduces what they can match against, which turns the two-protagonist setup into a way out of trouble rather than just a story device.

White stars, red stars

Break line of sight, into an alley, a garage, a side street with no police in view, and the stars turn from white to red. The footage shows police still searching while red but no longer in direct pursuit. Kill the leads while they are red and leave the search area and the stars fade. Get spotted again and they go white, with every lead that was still lit.

What was shown, and what was not

The showcase demonstrated up to three stars: a patrol car or two at one, more units and the icons filling in at two, roadblocks and sustained pursuit at three, where Nelson's advice was to get out of the car and into alleys on foot. Levels four to six have not been shown. In the earlier six-star games that meant helicopters, SWAT and finally the military; GTA IV dropped the military for NOOSE and the FIB. We will update the guide the moment Rockstar shows the top end.

Level-by-level guide to shaking the police