GTA 6 Still Won’t Show the Kiss — Do Video Games Have a Smooching Problem?

GTA 6 is shaping up to be the hottest, sweatiest, most romantic Grand Theft Auto yet. Jason and Lucia oozed chemistry in that trailer. Sweaty muscles. Gold dresses. Slo-mo hand touches. The kind of thing that would end in a kiss in literally any movie. But when it comes time to actually lock lips?

Cut. Fade to black. Tease over.

“Their faces are close. They angle their heads and lean in closer. Their lips part and… cut!”

As Oli Welsh from Polygon noticed, it’s the oldest trick in the book. Get the tension sizzling, then skip the payoff. Sure, it’s a classic film trailer move. But in video games? It’s starting to feel like avoidance. Because let's face it: video game kissing still looks weird.

Developers can render hyper-detailed eyes, dynamic lighting, realistic sweat, even believable midriff strokes (thanks, Rockstar). But ask them to animate two human mouths pressing together? That’s where things fall apart. Also, check the Trailer 2 analysis for more new details. Suddenly, your gorgeously animated characters become dead-eyed plastic dolls playing bumper cars with their faces.

Take Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s full of emotionally rich relationships, deep intimacy systems, and even custom kissing animations. A lot of love went into it, and you can feel that when you kiss Astarion or Shadowheart. But even then...

“They still look like two mannequins clonking their immovable plastic faces on each other.”

It’s not just a Larian problem. It’s everyone’s problem. Mass Effect has been trying to do sexy kisses since 2007, and even with all the cinematic framing, Shepard’s mouth always looked like it was trying to eat someone’s chin. Cyberpunk 2077 gave us moody lighting and gorgeous character models, but intimacy scenes still felt... stiff. The Witcher 3? Hot people. Cold kisses. Horizon Forbidden West? Emotionally charged romance, but the actual kiss with Seyka looked like an awkward collision.

Honestly, the only studio that ever really nailed this (kind of) was Naughty Dog. The Last of Us Part II’s kiss between Ellie and Dina was probably the best in gaming history so far—soft lighting, slow pacing, full mocap, and most importantly, emotional authenticity. It worked because it felt real.

But one example in a sea of awkward smooches isn’t much. And now GTA 6 is staring down the same problem.

“If anyone can do it, it’s probably these masters of cinematic presentation and messy humanity in video games.”

Rockstar could be hiding a true breakthrough here. They’ve already proved in the trailer that they’re leaning into sensuality like never before. Jason and Lucia have physical chemistry that we’ve never seen in this franchise. This isn’t the goofy sex humor of San Andreas or the cold transactions of GTA V’s strip clubs. This is romantic tension. This is foreplay.

GTA has had sex in it before, but it certainly hasn’t been this sexy.

So maybe, just maybe, Rockstar has cracked it. Maybe the kiss is in the game, and it looks amazing. Maybe they cut away in the trailer not because they couldn’t pull it off, but because they’re old-school marketers who know how to build suspense. That’s the optimistic take. The other one? They’re still struggling like everyone else.

Either way, the stakes are weirdly high for a kiss. Because GTA 6 is different. It's not just bullets, bikinis, and bad behavior anymore. Rockstar wants us to believe in Jason and Lucia as real people, not just avatars for chaos. Check the known characters list from developers' updates. If their relationship is the heart of the story, then the kiss has to work.

Otherwise, the tension snaps. The immersion cracks. And we're back to watching two glorified mannequins bonk faces while the music swells awkwardly in the background.

So yeah, kissing in games still has a long way to go. Until someone figures out how to make two digital people kiss without looking like they’re syncing Bluetooth, the Video Game Kissing Problem will remain unsolved.

We’ll find out on May 26, 2026, when GTA 6 finally drops. Until then? We’ll just keep holding our breath... lips parted.