Do optional hobbies like sunbathing and riding scooters count toward my GTA 6 completion rate?
Planning your run in Vice City? Discover why half of GTA 6’s 27+ optional activities won’t help your 100% completion score—and which ones you must do.
Key Takeaways
What: GTA 6 features 27+ optional activities.
Why: Only specific side missions count toward 100% completion.
How: Track completion-tagged missions like hunting, and treat activities like sunbathing as pure sandbox fun.
The Completionist’s Guide to Vice City: Making Sense of GTA 6’s Non-Criminal World
The conversation surrounding Grand Theft Auto 6 usually focuses on the size of its map or the details of its crime-filled story. However, the real depth of the game lies in its quieter moments. Rockstar Games has built at least 27 distinct optional activities into this version of Leonida. Yet, a closer look at the mechanics shows a structural division that most early reports completely overlook.
The Progression Trap: Side Missions vs. Leisure
When guides list the game’s hobbies, they tend to treat every activity the same way. They group simple diversions like sunbathing next to multi-stage tasks like tracking down rare vehicles. But mechanically, these activities sit on opposite sides of a strict line.
Here is the counter-intuitive reality: spending hours exploring the sandbox will do absolutely nothing for your completion progress.
Rockstar divides the non-criminal world into structured Side Missions and optional Leisure Activities. If you want to reach a 100% completion state on your save file, you must complete the Side Missions. Pure Leisure activities do not count toward your final percentage.
To plan your time in Leonida, it helps to know which activities actually move the needle:
- The Completion Checklist (Required): These are structured tasks with clear goals. They include environmental challenges like Cave Diving, Hunting, and Fishing. You will also need to complete localized chores like Litter-picking, Ship Customisation, and tracking down Wyman’s Classic Car Collection. Even narrative-focused tasks like Eavesdropping and Feeding Stray Animals fall under this required heading.
- The Sandbox Diversions (Optional): These exist purely to make the world feel alive. Activities like Riding Electric Scooters, Sunbathing, Clubbing, Watching TV, or visiting the Zoo carry no completion flag. They are enjoyable distractions, but they will not help you complete the game.
Sports, Fitness, and New Competitions
Aside from the completion checklist, Rockstar is bringing back several classic hobbies while introducing brand-new sports.
If you played Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, you will recognize the Gym and working out system. Lucia can be seen training in the promotional footage, confirming that physical fitness is interactive once again. Other returning sports include Basketball, 8-Ball Pool, and Scuba Diving.
However, the new additions are what truly expand the world. For the first time in the franchise, players can participate in Mini Golf and Kayaking. These are not just solo pastimes; Mini Golf and Dirt Bike Racing both support multiplayer, allowing you to compete with friends.
One Game, Two Realities: The Censorship Split
While players worldwide are preparing to explore Vice City, their visual experiences might look quite different depending on where they live.
When the extended gameplay trailer broadcasted on Netflix, it quickly became a global hit. However, the official version uploaded to China’s Bilibili platform showed massive differences. Rockstar applied heavy blurring filters over several parts of the footage. These blurs covered scenes featuring smoking, blood, corpses, suggestive clothing, and suggestive dancing.
This raised immediate questions about regional versions of the game. But the evidence suggests a simpler explanation. The uncensored trailer—complete with Chinese subtitles—remained fully available on Rockstar’s own website. Other trailers on Bilibili did not receive the same heavy edits. This points to platform-level regulations rather than a decision by Rockstar to build a fundamentally censored version of the game for specific markets.
Planning Your Arrival in Leonida
After two significant delays, the launch date for the game is solidifying. Take-Two and Rockstar have pointed to November 19, 2026, as the official release date on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. This timing places the launch just one week before Black Friday, a period when console hardware sales typically climb.
For digital buyers, the preparation starts early. You can begin preloading the game on November 12, 2026, giving you a full week to download the massive file before the servers get crowded. Additionally, those who pre-order will receive the Vintage Vice City Pack, which includes themed in-game items to jumpstart your return to the coast.
Whether you plan to hunt down every single side mission for a perfect save file or simply want to ride scooters along the beachfront, Leonida is designed to be explored at your own pace.