If you’ve played a Grand Theft Auto game before, then you are probably familiar with the series’ sprinting mechanic. Rather than clicking the left analog stick like in most other games, you have to either hold or mash a face button. It’s annoying, less intuitive, and feels like a relic of the past, and luckily, Rockstar apparently agrees: Grand Theft Auto 6 is doing away with it.
As shared by the Italian YouTuber MikeShowSha, you will now click the analog stick in order to sprint. It’s a welcome change for muscle memory if nothing else, as anything other than clicking the analog stick feels odd in 2026. We’ve occasionally seen other game series, like Halo, adjust control schemes over time to fit more modern standards, though usually the option for the old-style controls is available in these cases.
Of course, this change is certainly the reason it took 13 years for Grand Theft Auto 6 to arrive. Other, less-important changes include a map that is three times bigger than Red Dead Redemption 2, a new Criminal Profile system, throwable dog poop, and a physical-fitness system.
Grand Theft Auto 6 arrives November 19 for Xbox Series X|S and PS5, and it’s expected to be one of the biggest entertainment launches in history. With the change to how you sprint, it just might get there.
