Accessibility has shifted from an afterthought to a core design pillar in AAA console gaming over the past five years, driven largely by Sony first-party output (notably The Last of Us Part II and God of War Ragnarök) and emerging regulatory pressure such as the European Accessibility Act (EAA), which became enforceable on 28 June 2025 and brings video games published in the EU within its remit (European Commission, 2019). Rockstar Games, by contrast, has historically lagged behind this curve. Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018) shipped with a relatively modest set of options — subtitle toggles, several colourblind filters, lock-on aim variants and basic remapping on PC — but no comprehensive accessibility menu comparable to Naughty Dog's offering (Bayliss, 2018). This report assesses what Grand Theft Auto VI is likely to deliver in 2026 across four pillars — colourblind support, subtitle customisation, aim assist and controller remapping — by triangulating Rockstar's prior baseline, the Naughty Dog "industry standard" (Naughty Dog, 2020), and the Game Accessibility Guidelines reference framework (Game Accessibility Guidelines, 2024).
Red Dead Redemption 2 offered three colour palettes targeted at protanopia, deuteranopia and tritanopia applied to the mini-map and HUD elements, plus toggleable subtitles with a speaker-name option, lock-on targeting modes (Free Aim, Wide, Narrow), and difficulty-style targeting assists. PC-only key rebinding was supported; console remap was limited to a handful of preset layouts (Bayliss, 2018). Crucially, RDR2 lacked subtitle resizing, no high-contrast mode, no text-to-speech, no menu narration and no toggle for hold-to-press inputs — gaps repeatedly flagged by disabled-player advocacy (Can I Play That?, 2019).
The Last of Us Part II shipped over sixty accessibility options grouped into vision, hearing and motor presets, including full controller remap on console, hold-to-toggle conversion for every action, subtitle direction arrows, speaker name colouring, three colourblind filters paired with a separate High Contrast Display render mode, screen magnifier, text-to-speech for menus, audio cues for traversal, navigation assistance, lock-on with adjustable strength, and combat accessibility toggles such as reduced enemy perception and slow-motion aim (Naughty Dog, 2020). It remains the reference implementation against which open-world titles are now measured.
Expectation: High confidence Rockstar will at minimum match its RDR2 trio (protanopia, deuteranopia, tritanopia), and a moderate probability that a dedicated High Contrast Display mode — analogous to TLOU2's render layer that desaturates the environment while flagging allies, enemies, items and interactables in vivid contrasting colours — will appear. Given GTA Online's dependence on iconography (waypoints, weapon wheel, mini-map), a colourblind filter applied across both world and UI elements is now table-stakes per the Game Accessibility Guidelines basic tier (Game Accessibility Guidelines, 2024). A user-adjustable severity slider (as seen in Forza Horizon 5) would represent a leap beyond TLOU2's preset-only approach.
Expectation: Significant uplift from RDR2 likely mandatory. Minimum viable feature-set should include adjustable text size (small/medium/large), a dark or semi-opaque background, speaker names with per-speaker colour coding, and an off-screen-speaker direction arrow — all standardised by TLOU2 and reiterated by the Game Accessibility Guidelines intermediate tier as customisable subtitle presentation (Game Accessibility Guidelines, 2024; Naughty Dog, 2020). Given GTA VI's confirmed dual protagonists, simultaneous radio chatter, and ambient pedestrian dialogue, subtitles for combat/systemic dialogue (TLOU2's "Story + Combat" toggle) would be especially valuable. Closed-caption support for significant non-speech audio (gunshot direction, sirens, vehicle approach) is a likely competitive necessity.
Expectation: Granular aim assistance is almost certain, building on GTA V's existing Free Aim / Assisted Aim split. The plausible upper bound mirrors TLOU2: a lock-on toggle with off/on/auto-target tiers, a 1–10 strength slider, separate slow-motion-while-aiming, weapon-sway disable, and arc-throw lock-on for grenades or thrown weapons (Naughty Dog, 2020). For online play, Rockstar will need to gate certain assists behind matchmaking flags to preserve competitive integrity — a balance the Game Accessibility Guidelines explicitly recommend handling via opt-in matchmaking preferences (Game Accessibility Guidelines, 2024).
Expectation: Full per-input remap on console is the single biggest probable upgrade. RDR2 console remap was preset-only; the modern baseline established by TLOU2 (and matched by God of War Ragnarök, Horizon Forbidden West and Spider-Man 2) is per-button reassignment plus universal hold-to-toggle conversion (Naughty Dog, 2020). Given Sony's continued first-party influence and platform-level accessibility settings on both PS5 and Xbox Series, anything less in 2026 would invite reputational damage. Macro/combo simplification for vehicle-entry, weapon-wheel and melee sequences is plausible but less certain.
Rockstar's secrecy and historically conservative approach to optional systems mean the floor of likely features is closer to RDR2-plus than to TLOU2-equivalent. Three risks dominate: (1) online-mode parity, where assists may be deliberately reduced to protect competitive multiplayer; (2) UI-driven mechanics like phone navigation and contact lists, which historically resist screen-reader retrofitting; and (3) absence of dedicated accessibility presets, which TLOU2 demonstrated are critical for discoverability (Naughty Dog, 2020).
GTA VI will almost certainly deliver a meaningful accessibility uplift over RDR2 across all four pillars, driven by regulatory pressure (EAA), platform expectations and the demonstrated commercial neutrality of robust accessibility menus. The realistic ceiling is parity with the Naughty Dog standard on vision, hearing and motor settings; the realistic floor is RDR2-plus-resizable-subtitles-and-full-remap. Anything below the floor would be a significant negative story at launch.
Bayliss, B. (2018) Red Dead Redemption 2 Accessibility Review. Can I Play That?. Available at: https://caniplaythat.com (Accessed: 14 May 2026).
Can I Play That? (2019) 'Red Dead Redemption 2 — Deaf/HoH Game Review', Can I Play That?. Available at: https://caniplaythat.com (Accessed: 14 May 2026).
European Commission (2019) Directive (EU) 2019/882 on the accessibility requirements for products and services (European Accessibility Act). Brussels: Official Journal of the European Union.
Game Accessibility Guidelines (2024) Full List of Guidelines. Available at: https://gameaccessibilityguidelines.com/full-list/ (Accessed: 14 May 2026).
Naughty Dog (2020) The Last of Us Part II: Accessibility Features Detailed, 9 June. Available at: https://www.naughtydog.com/blog/the_last_of_us_part_ii_accessibility_features_detailed (Accessed: 14 May 2026).
Straub, J. (2020) 'The Last of Us Part II Sets a New Bar for Accessibility', DAGERSystem. Available at: https://dagersystem.com (Accessed: 14 May 2026).