GTA 6 Fans Really Aren't Happy With The UI

GTA 6 Weapon Wheel Slammed As The "Most Soulless UI I've Ever Seen" Published Aug 28, 2026, 11:01 AM EDT James Lucas is an Executive Editor at TheGamer who has worked in professional journalism since 2018. A Newcastle University graduate with a degree in Journalism, Media, and Culture, they have written hundreds of guides, news stories, and original reports, with bylines in IGN, NME, GaymingMag, and VG247, sourcing interviews with studio heads, legendary industry figures, prominent actors, and more. An expert on FPS games, Soulslikes, RPGs, and survival horror, James has intimate knowledge of a wide variety of titles, providing in-depth coverage and exclusive profiles. Some of the games they have extensively covered include: Half-Life 3, Counter-Strike, Elden Ring, and Fallout. They pride themselves on their consistently thorough research, leveraging nearly a decade of industry experience. You can reach them at James.t@thegamer.com The official GTA 6 extended look blew people away last night. It even broke Netflix. Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive's impressive 30-minute highlight reel showcased everything from the in-depth honor system and Lucia and Jason's dynamic relationship to the completely revamped cop chases that make this Bonnie & Clyde-inspired sandbox far more interactive than past titles. However, there's just one glaring issue: the UI. That's a pretty big problem to have. It's the thing you're always looking at, glued to the screen throughout every moment of the game. And while it's clear that Rockstar has paid its trademark attention to detail to even the most insignificant features, the UI is flat, generic, soulless, and incredibly out of place. The weapon "wheel" is especially egregious; a series of disjointed boxes with icons awkwardly crammed in, lacking the distinctive visual identity seen in previous Rockstar games. There's no personality, just minimalism cranked up to 11, and it's already a pretty big sore point. "The HUD Is Way Too Ugly" "This is probably the ugliest and most soulless UI I've ever seen in a video game," X user @NTxC commented. "They spent all the billions of dollars investing in the open world scope, animations and visuals so that there wasn't even a penny left for the HUD design. Brutal," chimed in @atuhru. "This is probably the most expensive game ever produced and this is the UI. Lol. Lmao even," echoed @Noctis Aozaki. Reddit threads have also cropped up specifically targeting the weapon wheel, like one from u/GraqpeJuice, who described the extended look as a "fu**ing 10/10 holy sh*t," while also slamming the weapon wheel as "fu**ing ugly and hard to look at." Another thread from u/Vsriram01 stressed that the "game was practically perfect," but that "the UI was damn bad," specifically calling the weapon wheel "ugly ass." Like others reacting to the reveal, they assumed the weapon wheel was just a placeholder in the leaks. Unfortunately, it's real. "GTA 5 UI and the weapon wheel was so good and I was wondering how GTA 6 will top that. Suffice to say it didn't," they said. There are defenders, of course, who like the minimalistic approach. But then again, I'm sure there are people who like the corporate brown McDonald's buildings that replaced the vibrant red and yellow funhouses, or the stripped-bare logos that all use the same font. GTA 6's UI is indistinguishable from an Arma 2 mod, whereas Red Dead 2 made its weapon wheel and other HUD elements feel congruous with its Western setting. They had style. It's a major step down, and it's the one part of the game that still feels unfinished. Considering we'll be cycling through that weapon wheel and glaring at the weird little emoji honor icons all game, it's a pretty distracting problem. Though it's hard to imagine it being drastically overhauled ahead of launch in the few short months left. Systems Released November 19, 2026 ESRB Rating Pending - Likely Mature 17+ Developer(s) Rockstar Games Publisher(s) Rockstar Games Engine Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) Genre(s) Action, Adventure