Here's the honest answer first: Rockstar has not published a single master list of GTA 6 side activities. What we know comes from Trailer 2 (released May 2025), a handful of journalist previews, and carefully frame-by-frame analysis of official footage. Everything confirmed below traces back to at least one of those sources. Everything estimated is labeled (est.).
That said, the picture is clearer than most outlets are letting on. Between trailer footage, Take-Two earnings calls, and the handful of hands-on previews that ran ahead of the November 2026 launch window, we can build a reliable — if not yet exhaustive — GTA 6 activities list. Here it is.
What Rockstar Has Actually Shown Us
Trailer 2 was the single biggest data drop for side content. The two-and-a-half-minute cut was dense with background detail: NPCs mid-activity, environmental props that only exist to support gameplay loops, and brief but deliberate shots of Lucia and Jason doing things that aren't shooting or driving. Rockstar doesn't animate filler. If it's in the trailer, it's in the game.
Journalist previews — the ones that ran in late 2025 — filled in a few more gaps. Where preview text and trailer footage agree, we call it Confirmed. Where only one source supports it, we note that.
Every Confirmed GTA 6 Side Activity
| Activity | Source | Status | Gameplay Hook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jet Skiing | Trailer 2 + previews | Confirmed | Open-water traversal; race variants (est.) |
| Mini Golf | Trailer 2 | Confirmed | Minigame scoring; social activity with NPCs |
| Nightclub / Bar Scenes | Trailer 2 | Confirmed | Social stat influence (est.); story beats |
| Street Racing | Trailer 2 + previews | Confirmed | Driving skill progression (est.) |
| Boating / Yacht Life | Trailer 2 | Confirmed | Leisure traversal; property tie-in (est.) |
| Gym / Fitness | Previews | Confirmed | Stamina and strength stat building |
| Hunting / Wildlife Interaction | Trailer 2 environment | Confirmed (env.) | Everglades setting; full hunting loop (est.) |
| Fishing | Trailer 2 background | Rumored | Leisure; item economy (est.) |
| Casino / Gambling | Environment shots | Rumored | Money sink; story side quest (est.) |
| Shopping / Clothing | Trailer 2 + previews | Confirmed | Character customization; NPC reaction (est.) |
Table key — Confirmed: seen in official footage or verified by preview. Rumored: strong environmental evidence but no explicit confirmation. (est.) = GTALab estimate, not official.
GTA 6 Jet Skiing: More Than a Pretty Shot
GTA 6 jet skiing is one of the most clearly confirmed water activities in the game. It appears in Trailer 2 as an active sequence — not background dressing — with Lucia on a personal watercraft in what looks like open coastal water off Leonida's eastern shoreline.
Why does this matter beyond aesthetics? Vice City's geography is built around water. The Everglades wetlands, the Keys-style island chains, and the main city's waterfront all create natural corridors where a jet ski isn't just a toy — it's a practical escape route. In GTA 5, water vehicles were underused because the map punished detours. GTA 6's layout appears designed to reward them.
Preview text mentions timed challenges on water, which suggests a structured racing variant exists alongside free roam use. We're calling that (est.) until Rockstar confirms race modes explicitly.
GTA 6 Mini Golf: Small Game, Bigger Signal
A golf minigame in GTA is nothing new — GTA 5's golf was surprisingly deep. But GTA 6 mini golf signals something specific about the game's social design. Mini golf is a group activity. You need other people — or, in-game, NPCs — to make it make sense.
Its inclusion, confirmed via Trailer 2 footage, points toward a richer NPC social ecosystem than GTA 5 offered. Rockstar has reportedly invested heavily in NPC behavioral AI for GTA 6, and a minigame like golf only works if the AI around you reacts, responds, and feels present. It's a small detail that implies a large system underneath.
For multiplayer: expect mini golf to appear in GTA Online Leonida as a low-stakes social activity — the kind that fills session lobbies and pads playtime in the early weeks post-launch. (est.)
How Side Activities Connect to the Core Game
Do Activities Affect Character Stats?
Almost certainly yes — but the system is more nuanced than GTA: San Andreas's rigid stat bars. Preview language describes characters who "feel different" based on how you play, which is stat progression by another name. Gym visits tie to physical output. Consistent driving (including street racing) sharpens vehicle handling. Social activities (est.) may influence how NPCs and story characters respond to Jason and Lucia.
Rockstar hasn't published a stat screen. The system may be invisible to the player — which is arguably better design.
Do Side Activities Gate Story Content?
No evidence of hard locks. GTA 6 appears to follow the GTA 5 model: side content enriches the world but doesn't block the critical path. That said, some activities likely surface optional story missions — a racing circuit contact, a nightclub owner, a marina regular who needs a favor. These are the connective tissue between leisure and narrative.
What About GTA Online Leonida?
Take-Two has confirmed that GTA Online will continue as a standalone experience alongside GTA 6. Based on the GTA 5-to-Online translation, expect the majority of confirmed side activities to carry over into the online mode, with competitive and cooperative variants added post-launch. Jet ski races and golf tournaments are the obvious early candidates. (est.)
Activities Spotted But Not Yet Confirmed
A few things have strong trailer evidence but lack explicit confirmation. Treat these as likely, not guaranteed:
- Fishing — background rod-and-reel props visible in Everglades sequences. RDR2's fishing system makes this a reasonable expectation, but GTA 5 didn't have it.
- Casino gambling — interior environments visible in trailer footage resemble a casino floor. GTA Online added a casino in 2019; a base-game version would be new.
- Surfing or paddleboarding — coastal setting, one trailer frame, nothing explicit.
- Tattoo parlors / body modification — clothing confirmed; body mod implied by character customization depth, not yet shown.
What's Missing From the List — And Why It Matters
Tennis was in GTA 5. Darts were in GTA 5. Neither has appeared in GTA 6 trailers or previews so far. That's not confirmation they're absent — Rockstar routinely holds back details — but it's worth noting. The trailer's side activity emphasis skews toward outdoor, Floridian, water-adjacent content. The Leonida setting is doing heavy lifting here.
Pool (billiards), arm wrestling, and flight school haven't surfaced either. Flight school feels like a near-certainty given GTA 6's confirmed aviation content (est.), but we won't list it as confirmed until it is.
The Broader Picture: Why GTA 6 Side Content Is a Design Statement
Rockstar has spent twelve years watching GTA Online teach them what players actually do when the story ends. The answer: they mess around. They race, they gamble, they pose for photos, they do the dumbest possible thing with a jet ski. GTA 6's side activity suite isn't padding. It's the product of twelve years of behavioral data from tens of millions of players.
Mini golf exists because Rockstar knows players will spend three hours there on launch weekend. Jet skiing exists because the map was built to make it feel like the smartest way to cross a bay. Every item on this list is a deliberate choice.
That's the real story behind the GTA 6 side activities roster. Not just what you can do — but why Rockstar chose to put it there.
FAQ
Q. Is jet skiing confirmed in GTA 6? Yes. GTA 6 jet skiing is confirmed via Trailer 2 footage and corroborated by journalist previews. It appears as an active gameplay sequence, not background scenery, with timed race variants also reported (est.).
Q. Is mini golf in GTA 6? Yes. Mini golf is confirmed in GTA 6 through Trailer 2. It's part of a broader social activity system and is expected to appear in GTA Online Leonida post-launch, though Rockstar hasn't detailed the full minigame mechanics yet.
Q. Will GTA 6 side activities affect character stats? Almost certainly, based on preview descriptions of characters who "feel different" depending on playstyle. Gym workouts, racing, and social activities all appear to feed into a stat-adjacent progression system — though Rockstar hasn't published a formal stat screen.
Q. Is fishing confirmed in GTA 6? Not yet confirmed. Fishing props appear in Everglades environment shots, and Red Dead Redemption 2's fishing system makes it a reasonable expectation, but Rockstar has not explicitly confirmed a fishing activity as of mid-2026.
Q. Will GTA 6 side activities carry over to GTA Online? Take-Two has confirmed GTA Online continues as a standalone experience alongside GTA 6. Based on the GTA 5-to-Online pattern, most confirmed side activities — including jet skiing and mini golf — are expected to appear in GTA Online Leonida, likely with competitive variants added post-launch (est.).