A viral fan debate has broken out after Italian YouTuber MikeShowSha, who published new details from a hands-off Grand Theft Auto 6 preview in late August, revealed in a follow-up video that sprinting will reportedly be mapped to the L3 button (pressing in the left analogue stick) rather than a face button as in previous games. He described movement as smoother and less "clunky" than in Red Dead Redemption 2, but many fans reacted with alarm rather than reassurance, fearing the change could cause hand strain and controller stick drift over the game's reportedly 80-plus-hour campaign.

Key uncertainties remain, as MikeShowSha could not confirm whether players will need to hold L3 continuously or simply tap it, nor did he detail any accessibility options relating to controls, despite noting the game has many. Similar L3-sprint schemes exist in numerous modern shooters, and both PlayStation and Xbox offer higher-end controllers and system-level remapping to mitigate the issue, though these must be reconfigured per game. Rockstar has not officially confirmed the control scheme, and the discussion, drawing hundreds of thousands of views on social media, largely illustrates the intensity of fan scrutiny ahead of the game's release rather than a confirmed design flaw.