GTA 6 Criminal Profile Explained: How the New Honor System Works
GTA 6 introduces a new system called the Criminal Profile. It tracks what kind of criminal you are as you play as Jason and Lucia, and it works a little like the Honor system from Red Dead Redemption 2. Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson has explained the system in interviews with IGN and Edge magazine. Here is everything we know before launch.
What the Criminal Profile is
The Criminal Profile is a background system that watches how you commit crimes over the course of your playthrough. It is not about whether you commit crimes at all, since this is still Grand Theft Auto. It is about how you commit them: carefully and only when needed, or with constant, unnecessary violence.
Nelson has described it as the spiritual successor to Red Dead Redemption 2’s Honor system. The big difference is the framing. In RDR2, you were judged as good or bad. In GTA 6, you are always a criminal. The question is what kind.
How the profile changes
According to Nelson, ordinary chaos will not push your profile in one direction. Getting into a fight, fleeing from the police or defending yourself is treated as normal for the story. What changes your profile is consistent behaviour that goes beyond what a situation needs, such as:
- Using lethal force when there was no need for it.
- Attacking bystanders again and again.
- Escalating situations that could have ended quietly.
- Even small antisocial acts repeated over time. Reports mention littering as one example the system can notice.
The system is designed to understand context. A shootout during a mission or a fight in self-defence should not be held against you in the same way as random violence on the street.
The profile scale
Rockstar has not published a final list of states, and details could change before launch. In an Edge interview, the scale was described as running from “Professional” at one end to “Irredeemable” at the other, shown with angel and devil icons. Earlier previews mentioned intermediate labels such as Aggressive and Violent.
Some reports also suggest that the most extreme state cannot be undone once you reach it. We will confirm how this works once the game is out.
Jason and Lucia have separate profiles
Reports from the preview events say Jason and Lucia each carry their own profile. You could play one as a careful professional and the other as a loose cannon. Learn more about both characters in our profiles of Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos.
The Criminal Profile is also separate from the relationship system that tracks how close Jason and Lucia are. Rockstar has said the two will stay partners in crime no matter how that relationship develops.
You can ignore it
The system is optional. You can turn off Criminal Profile notifications and play GTA 6 the way you would play any other GTA game. Rockstar has said it wants the profile to add choices, not take freedom away.
How it works with the Wanted system
The Criminal Profile runs alongside the classic Wanted system, which returns in a more detailed form. Police in GTA 6 are reported to remember details like your vehicle and clothing, so changing your look and your car becomes part of escaping. Nelson has also said players will not feel as overpowered as in past GTA games. Read our full guide to the GTA 6 Wanted system and police.
What we still don’t know
- Whether the profile changes mission dialogue or story outcomes.
- Whether shops, contacts or prices react to your profile.
- Exactly how many states there are at launch.
- Whether there is a way to restore a profile after a violent spree.
The bottom line
The Criminal Profile is one of the biggest new systems in GTA 6. It rewards a consistent play style without forcing one on you. For more on how the game plays, see our GTA 6 gameplay overview and our comparison of GTA 6 and Red Dead Redemption 2. We will update this guide with confirmed details after launch on November 19.