Rockstar Games: GTA VI probably with a female protagonist and without discrimination

0
138

It has been official since February of this year that Rockstar Games is working on the next installment in the Grand Theft Auto series. Since then, rumors have repeatedly seen the light of day. According to a report, the game is now being delayed due to a culture change at the developer: GTA VI should not contain jokes about marginalized groups.

The renowned games journalist Jason Schreier, formerly at Kotaku and now for Bloomberg, describes some details from the development of the long-awaited triple A title. According to the industry insider, he refers to almost two dozen former employees or current developers at Rockstar Games. Although Schreier is mostly very reliable, nonetheless all the information is unofficial rumours, because Rockstar Games itself has so far been silent about the new Grand Theft Auto.

The USA are no longer parodied

According to the report, as part of a cultural change, the developer has rethinked how to deal with issues and political content that are currently sensitive, especially in the USA. For example, there should be no more jokes at the expense of fringe groups, which will undoubtedly lead to a debate about political correctness among players – the “biting satire” has been a core part of the GTA series so far. It is fitting that Rockstar Games already removed some sayings that questioned the dignity of transsexual people in the new version of GTA V for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, which was released in spring.

Aside from the obvious reason not to consistently degrade members of the relevant minorities to a joke for the purposes of dull entertainment, the developer also argues with the current state of the United States: In 2022, the country has simply become a satire of itself, which cannot be satirized any further. If the rumors are right, GTA VI would represent a turning point in the iconic game series – after all, the predecessor was to be understood as an almost nihilistic parody of everything and everyone, as Schreier notes.

Sister and brother as protagonists in Miami

Furthermore, Rockstar Games wants to establish a new image of women and not only use female characters as either annoying supporting roles or mere sex objects. Instead, GTA VI is said to feature a protagonist for the first time in the history of the series. A twin brother can also be played as a second character. The siblings, the report says are from Brazil, were separated at a young age and are now clashing — on opposite sides — in a drug war. Rockstar Games probably uses the story of the criminal duo Bonnie and Clyde as inspiration for the plot.

Geographically, Schreier dictates the upcoming Grand Theft Auto to be in southern Florida; the large map with more interior spaces is intended to offer an adaptation of Miami and the surrounding area. The state capital was already the setting for GTA Vice City, while both GTA V and GTA San Andreas were set in a twist on Los Angeles. Rockstar Games is said to have originally planned with several cities and a larger area in South America, but the project turned out to be too ambitious. Instead, the corresponding content should possibly be submitted in the years after the release of GTA VI.

Rockstar Games also has problems

The employees dated the latter to 2024 at the earliest, but a postponement to 2025 is also within the realm of possibility. The changes to the content described made the work more difficult, as did a restructuring at the developer: Rockstar Games has recently been criticized more often for a disreputable corporate culture; Parallels to the scandals at Activision Blizzard or allegations of harassment at Ubisoft are self-evident.

Accordingly, everyday work at Rockstar Games in the past was often characterized by alcohol and regular trips to strip clubs been, female employees were also systematically suppressed. As a result, numerous executives have now been fired; Dan Houser, an influential developer on GTA V, left the company back in 2019. Salaries were also adjusted and more permanent positions were provided instead of temporary workers. The developer also wants to avoid crunch phases. In any case, the morale of the workforce has increased significantly as a result of the changes.