A new patent that could suggest improved AI in GTA 6 has been discovered.
The patent, which attempts to register a “system and method for virtual navigation in a gaming environment”, appeared on Reddit after being registered by the publisher Take-Two in October 2020.
The patent focuses on the ways in which game NPCs move and react to the environment, but says that “conventional systems provide only limited resources” when it comes to automating these movements – only a certain number of vehicles can appear to be moving in a road at a given time, for example, and automated drivers are only able to react to other nearby objects, rather than the world around them.
Take-Two says the current technology is “deficient”, since implementing realistic moves would be very difficult for game systems or would limit the scope of the rest of the game. The patent, however, would create “a realistic virtual world that is not limited by hardware or software limitations”.
This may mean, for example, that “each NPC can define its own specific characteristics” when driving. An NPC driving a sports car on a sunny day, for example, can accelerate much more than one driving a van in the rain. Take-Two further claims that different characters would have different driving skills, which could affect their driving style, and says that NPCs would be able to handle circumstances “like a high-speed chase” and avoid that area during the movement around a virtual city.
Although the patent was applied for by Take-Two and, therefore, may be related to any of the publisher’s games, there are several clues that point to GTA 6. Most notable are the inventors of the system; David Hynd and Simon Parr are respectively associate director of technology and lead AI programmer at Rockstar Games. Elsewhere, references to things like high-speed chases and detailed virtual cities can certainly point to the GTA series.
Although Rockstar has yet to announce anything official regarding a new GTA game, more and more information about the game seems to be emerging. Last summer, Take-Two renewed the game’s web domains, and Rockstar support told players to “stay tuned” regarding franchise updates. In November, fans discovered what appeared to be a ‘VI’ taunt in a GTA Online trailer. And last week, a rumor stated GTA 6 may feature a female protagonistwhile a Red Dead Redemption 2 dataminer found parachute files that could be related to a sixth game of the main line.
GTA 6 can start small, but it gets bigger over time.