These new rumours come from Bloomberg, stating that the game has been in development since 2014 and a possible release is just 2 years away from us. “Rockstar’s next game, Grand Theft Auto VI, will include a playable female protagonist for the first time, according to people familiar with the game“. This is a major uplift from the previous titles where we only got to play as male characters. “The woman, who is Latina, will be one of a pair of leading characters in a story influenced by the bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde“, Bloomberg states. In an interesting turn of events, “Developers are also being cautious not to “punch down” by making jokes about marginalized groups in contrast to previous games“. The latest console release also had all transphobic content removed. While this may sound good to many, fans may fear that the game will be rather soft. However, it is too early to make any comments. This is major turnaround as compared to previous games, where no one was safe from the wrath of the developers. “Grand Theft Auto V was a nihilistic parody that threw insults at everything, from right-wing radio hosts to liberal politicians. Inside the company, the tone wasn’t much different“. As for the setting of the game, “Early designs called for the inclusion of territories modelled after large swaths of North and South America“. This thought further evolved to, and I quote, “The company reeled in those ambitions and cut the main map down to a fictional version of Miami and its surrounding areas“. The company work conditions were not the best during the final days of GTA V’s release. This time period is known as the ‘crunch‘ where developers are to sit on their desks for 100 hour long weeks in an attempt to give final finishing touches to the upcoming game. However, many companies have a major problem as often developers are overworked and tired in the end. A controversy came up in 2018, where many developers spoke up against these harsh conditions. In an attempt to save the reputation of the company, Rockstar fired many senior figures who were titled ‘abusive/toxic‘. “Employees have been given new mental health and leave benefits. A new policy called “flexitime” allows staff to immediately take time off for every extra hour they work”. All these steps from Rockstar point towards the fact that they have opted for a softer tone. While this may be good for the employees, it does raise a question mark. “What will be the selling point of GTA VI“. Although I do not condone any racist remarks, I also do not want our favourite franchinse to fall in the rabbit hole of being too family friendly. Rumours point to a possible release in 2024 or 2025, which while being far away gives us some hope that the game is atleast being developed.
