GTA 6's first six radio stations, who hosts them, and the change that lets you hear them on foot

On 8 October Rockstar named the first six radio stations in Grand Theft Auto 6, put previews of them on its music page, and confirmed something the series has never done: you can keep listening after you get out of the car.

When we wrote up what was confirmed about the soundtrack in September, there were songs but no station names. That gap is now partly filled.

The six

Rockstar's own descriptions give the on-air names. The real people voicing them come from Rockstar's announcement, as reported by CharlieIntel and repeated across the music press.

• Flash FM. Pop, and the one returning name. It was the pop station in Vice City in 2002 and Vice City Stories in 2006, and Rockstar calls it a Vice City institution. Hosted by Robyn and Alex Consani.
• Cocoteo. Modern Latin: bachata, merengue, dembow and reggaeton. On air as El Martillo and La Gata, voiced by Bad Bunny and RaiNao.
• Afro Bank FM. Amapiano, African classics and 3-step, from Burna Boy and Palms Trax, credited on air as Burna and Palmsy.
• The Chamber. Metal from the eighties on, hosted by DJ Kerry and DJ Tom, who are Kerry King and Tom Araya of Slayer.
• Dirty South Classics. Regional rap and hip-hop, with Trick Daddy and Trina. Both are from Miami, which for a station broadcasting to a fictional Miami is the right call.
• Back Country. Country, presented by MW and Delta Dawne, with a roving swamp weather reporter called Mud Dog Mike who files from an airboat. Several outlets have named who is behind MW and Delta Dawne, but they do not agree with each other, and Rockstar's page uses only the on-air names. We are leaving it there until Rockstar names them.

The bigger change is the headphones

Every previous GTA tied the radio to a vehicle. Step out and the music stopped. In GTA 6, Jason and Lucia can connect headphones or earbuds to their phones and keep listening on foot, to the radio or to on-demand podcasts, which are also new to the series.

That is a change to how the world sounds rather than a menu option. A lot of a Rockstar open world is spent walking: into a shop, round a marina, across a beach. Talk radio has always been where the writing staff hide their best jokes, and until now you heard them only in traffic. Rockstar has not named any of the podcasts yet.

This is not the full list

Six is a first wave. GTA 5 launched with seventeen stations, fifteen of them music and two talk, and Rockstar has said nothing to suggest the new game ships with fewer. Coverage of the announcement already points to classic rock and talk radio still to come.

The radio is also separate from the album. *Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album* is thirty-four original tracks, out on 19 November, with singles already listed from Yung Lean with Future and Metro Boomin, Travis Scott, Morgan Wallen, Fuerza Regida, Rauw Alejandro, Cardi B and Keith Richards. Justice, who are credited with the score, released the album's lead single with the launch trailer on 15 October.

Where to listen now

Rockstar's music page has a preview of each station. Pick one and choose Preview Station. They run about two minutes and include on-air chatter, not just songs.

What is not known

How many stations there are in total, who is behind Back Country, what the podcasts are, and whether you can build your own station from music you own, as GTA 5 allowed on PC. The radio stations wiki page will be updated as each of those is answered.