GTA 6 Will Use L3 To Sprint Rather Than Making You Tap X

GTA 6 Is Finally Catching Up To The Rest Of The Industry By Changing How You Sprint Rockstar Published Sep 2, 2026, 5:24 AM EDT Josh Coulson is an editor at TheGamer covering breaking news on everything from colorful platformers to the latest Lego sets. Primarily a news writer since 2018, Josh has covered just about every major game from the past decade. Now an editor, their focus has shifted to being the leading affiliate expert at the site, building relationships between TheGamer and global brands including Mattel, Funko, and The Pokemon Company. Sign in to your TheGamer account Even though days have passed since the GTA 6 Extended Look debuted on Netflix and previews from those who were shown the game at Rockstar started to surface, more new details about the game continue to emerge. The latest is that, after decades of tapping away to make GTA protagonists sprint, Rockstar has finally switched things up and assigned sprinting to the left thumbstick. Sprinting Will Never Be The Same In GTA Again Rockstar There are various mechanics present across countless games that were once automatically assigned to one button that have since shifted elsewhere. Holding X on a PlayStation controller, or the equivalent on your console of choice, to accelerate in racing games making the universal move to the right trigger is the one that always springs to mind first. When on foot, in almost every game you play, clicking the left stick will make your character sprint. The biggest exception to this has been the GTA games. For decades, you have had to tap X on PlayStation, or A on Xbox, to sprint. A new video courtesy of streamer MikeShowSha, who got hands-on with GTA 6 for two hours, has confirmed that in the new game, tapping X to sprint will become a thing of the past. Sprinting Moves From X To L3 Rockstar The streamer confirms that Rockstar has finally caved and fallen in line with the rest of the industry when it comes to what you need to do to sprint. Click the left thumbstick while walking, and Jason or Lucia will start to run. That’s how it is in almost every other game where you control a character on foot, and that’s how it will be in GTA starting with GTA 6. It might seem like a small change, but it’s a big deal and a long-overdue change. Even though it has been 13 years since the launch of GTA 5, I’m still surprised that wasn’t the game where Rockstar drew a line in the sand when it comes to tapping X to sprint. GTA 6’s map size hasn’t been confirmed, but odds are it’s going to be huge, probably a heck of a lot bigger than GTA 5’s. Sure, we’ll be driving around most of the time, but we’ll be running a fair bit, too. Especially when it comes to shaking the cops based on what we’ve heard about how the game’s beefed-up wanted system is going to work. It’s a relief to know that I’ll be able to sprint with a single click rather than having to up my risk of developing RSI by hammering away at the X button every time I hear shots being fired. 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