Fuel in GTA 6: refuelling takes 10 seconds and Rockstar responds to the backlash

The game's most-debated mechanic now has a number. The studio co-head says it is 'pretty fast for a fill-up'. We look at whether the criticism holds.

Of every mechanic Rockstar has shown, none has generated more argument than this: in GTA VI cars burn fuel and you have to stop to fill up. Part of the community's objection is blunt: GTA is about driving fast and shooting, and a mandatory stop breaks that rhythm.

Now we have the number, and the studio's answer.

Exactly how long it takes

According to creator TGG, who saw an extended preview, selecting the refuel option triggers a cutscene lasting around 10 seconds. It is not a minigame and there is no trigger to hold: it is a transition.

Rob Nelson, the studio's co-head, put it bluntly: it is pretty fast for a fill-up, and there is not much to complain about.

What gas stations do besides fuel

This is the detail getting lost in the argument, and it changes the calculation:

• They repair the vehicle. If you arrive from a chase with a wrecked car, the gas station is also the garage.
• They recharge electric vehicles. EVs exist in the game and have their own option.
• They cost money. Another economic sink, in line with the game's other systems.

Does the criticism hold?

With what we know, partly.

For Rockstar: ten seconds is less than a last-generation loading screen, and the station solves two other things. If it is also where you repair, the stop stops being a tax and becomes a tactical decision: stop now, or push on?

For the critics: the friction is not the ten seconds, it is having to think about it. GTA has always let you grab any car and forget about it. And the precedent is uncomfortable: Red Dead Redemption 2 also added realism through short animations — skinning, cleaning your gun, feeding the horse — and that is exactly the aspect that most divides its players.

Where this fits

It is not a standalone mechanic. It is part of a pattern that can now be taken as confirmed: body weight and exercise, more demanding driving, revised car theft, the changed run button. GTA VI is betting on simulation over arcade convenience, and fuel is simply the most visible piece of that decision.

If you like that direction, fuel will not bother you. If what you wanted was GTA V with better graphics, this is one of several signals that it is not what is coming.

Sources: Rob Nelson's comments and mechanic details via creator TGG, reported by PC Gamer and GamesRadar+.