The romance between Jason and Lucia is completely optional, Rockstar confirms

One of the most repeated questions since the Extended Look finally has an official answer: no, you are not forced to play GTA VI as a love story. Rob Nelson, co-head of Rockstar North, puts it bluntly to IGN: “If you are into it as a concept, it feels great. Don’t bother with it if you aren’t. Up to you.” It is not something they want to foist upon players.

What never changes is the partnership itself. Nelson stresses the narrative is built so circumstances force them to stay together for most of the story: “at the very least, they will get through most things as partners in crime.” Backup in shootouts, shared getaways and character switching do not depend on how much affection you build between them.

But nurturing the relationship is not cosmetic: “whether you’ve nurtured the relationship or not will definitely have a bearing on how their story plays out,” Nelson warns, describing the intended feeling as being “a steward of their relationship,” someone who protects the couple as a unit while they get in trouble, run from the cops or simply wait for each other.

It is the missing piece for understanding Jason and Lucia’s relationship, which we covered before, and it fits the official description of the pair, “forced to rely on each other more than ever” to make it out alive.