Grand Theft Auto 6 to be “less crude” towards minorities in game

11 December, 2024

Grand Theft Auto 6

Grand Theft Auto 6 will be “less crude” towards minorities and the trans community, according to a new report.

In 2022, a next-gen update for Grand Theft Auto 5 quietly removed a number of features that had been criticised for being transphobic, including a Captain Spacetoy doll with “interchangeable genitalia” and “drag queens” that spawned outside ingame nightclub Cockatoos.

The changes were never addressed by developers Rockstar but did happen after an open letter was sent to them by Out Making Games, a UK-based advocacy group for LGBTQ+ people working in the games industry.

“Given the cultural impact Grand Theft Auto has around the world, Rockstar has a social responsibility to your players (many of whom may be LGBTQ+), to your staff and to the world at large to not promote violence against trans and gender diverse people,” the letter said.

Now, a new report from Bloomberg about the creation of Grand Theft Auto 6 has claimed: “Rockstar is asking its writers to be less crude toward transgender people and other minorities, the common targets of throwaway gags in previous versions.”

“The horror something something woke derp,” wrote one fan in response to the article. “The game can be crude and crass without those two things. Shouldn’t take it as anything about the overall tone,” said another. “I will never understand the people who think punching down is a requirement for media,” commented a third.

However other fans “miss the mid-2000s edgy Rockstar” when the studio could make games like San Andreas: “Just a bunch of devs with balls of steel not afraid to piss off the mainstream pearl clutches.” Someone else claimed that “wokeness and its modern sensibility killed creativity, possibilities and escapism”.

It’s also been reported that rival publishers are delaying their games so they don’t clash with Grand Theft Auto 6, which doesn’t currently have a firm release date.

In other news, Indiana Jones owner Lucasfilm has said it would be “super interesting” to create more games after the success of The Great Circle.

The post Grand Theft Auto 6 to be “less crude” towards minorities in game appeared first on NME.