A report has claimed that Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) will be set in a fictionalised version of Miami, and players will follow a female protagonist.
In an article published today (July 27), Bloomberg has claimed that GTA 6 will feature the series’ first female character – a Latina who will be one of two leading characters. Speaking to Bloomberg, sources familiar with the project say that the pair of characters are influenced by Bonnie and Clyde.
Bloomberg‘s report also claims that GTA 6 will be set in a fictionalised Miami and its neighbouring areas, though the game was initially designed to feature “large swaths of North and South America.”
It also states that due to developer Rockstar‘s ongoing efforts to tackle crunch culture within its projects – along with the project’s scale and issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic – GTA 6 is taking longer to create. To get it released earlier, Rockstar is reportedly going to update the game with new missions and cities regularly post-launch.
Because of GTA 6‘s slow production, developers interviewed by Bloomberg have claimed that the game is “at least” two years away from launching.
Bloomberg has also reported that besides trying to move away from crunch, Rockstar also wants to avoid using Grand Theft Auto‘s satirical humour to “punch down” on marginalized groups. This has already had an effect on GTA Online, as the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officers reportedly caused Rockstar to shelve a “Cops ‘n’ Crooks” mode planned for the game. Earlier in the year, Rockstar also removed transphobic content from GTA 5 and GTA Online.
In early July, Rockstar announced that it would be halting major updates for Red Dead Online so that it could move more resources into developing GTA 6.
In other gaming news, a major study has found “little to no evidence” that gaming can affect players’ wellbeing.
