GTA 5's Michael Actor Defends GTA 6 After Doubters Say Rockstar's Games Look Too Similar — IGN

RESOLVING THE LEDGER

Ned Luke, the actor behind Grand Theft Auto 5 's Michael De Santa, said people who think Grand Theft Auto 6 looks too much like GTA 5 are "out of their minds."

Luke has remained an important figure in the GTA community since he first appeared as one of three playable professional criminals in the 2013 installment. Now that he and the rest of the world have gotten a closer look at what Rockstar Games is cooking up with GTA 6, he's stepped in to defend it from the naysayers.

One of the many, many talking points to emerge in the wake of last week's GTA 6: Extended Look was that playing as protagonists Jason and Lucia looked a little too similar to the kind of gameplay one could expect from GTA 5. While most seem to believe Rockstar has wisely used the 13 years since that game's release, it hasn't stopped skepticism from creeping in.

Luke doesn't seem to be included in the new game's cast, but he still made sure to refute some of the criticisms popping up online while collaborating with YouTube channels Partychat and House of Highlights . When asked for his thoughts about those who believe there are too many similarities between GTA 5 and GTA 6, he made his stance clear.

"This looks nothing like Grand Theft Auto 5," he said. "I think they're out of their minds."

"I'll tell you one thing: I never looked that good," he added, pointing to an image of Jason on his screen."

Rockstar's GTA 6 extended look officially revealed footage of a host of new features, including tons of new side activities , story missions , a reworked Wanted system , and more. For Luke, one of the best examples of how Rockstar has reimagined Grand Theft Auto can be seen in how its many characters move.

Thank you Ned Luke pic.twitter.com/FozLjRVSML

— Zay 🔜 SWCLA (@justxavierisunc) August 30, 2026 "Watch the way the people move," he continued. "The walks are actual human walks. We still had a little bit of that mechanical thing going with our walks and the way we'd stand. For me, I felt like my legs were never fully straight. They always had this little bend in them."

He continued: "The technology has grown by leaps and bounds, you know? What would make you think it's going to be better than those games? It's no diss to those games. It's like between [GTA 5] and GTA 4. Our graphics blew GTA 4 away. They weren't even close."

Luke then called attention to the high level of detail in the planes, helicopters, and car explosions shown through the extended look. He even went as far as to address the comments saying GTA 6 didn't look much better than 2018's Red Dead Redemption 2, saying, "Sorry, guys, you're wrong. The graphics here beat Red Dead."

The actor behind GTA's Michael has stayed in touch with Rockstar fans in the years since his debut and has been known to speak his mind . In 2024, for example, he praised Lucia's introduction in GTA 6 as "huge."

"Lucia's hard, man," he said at the time. "In the trailer, she looked good. You get a lot of these clowns out here going, 'Rockstar's going woke, they're caving into the wokeness of the world,'" Luke said. "First of all, there's been other female protagonists in the past, but not in something as huge as this."

GTA 6 is scheduled to come to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S November 19, 2026. While its extended look on Netflix gave fans a lot to chew on, Rockstar still has plenty more to show between now and then. While we wait, you can check out all of IGN's exclusive coverage, including our preview and interview . There's also our list of 99 details we caught during the extended look and the 69 details we saw at Rockstar HQ .

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

GTA 5's Michael Actor Defends GTA 6 After Doubters Say Rockstar's Games Look Too Similar — IGN | AIPROPX