Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto VI is one of the most anticipated games ever. Despite the hype, the studio has been incredibly busy for nearly a decade. But a new report from Bloomberg offers some big new details, including that the game will feature the series’ first female protagonist.
According to Bloomberg, GTA VI will star a pair of characters loosely inspired by the famous thief duo Bonnie and Clyde. The female character will be Latina, and the game’s story will take place in a fictional version of Miami, Florida and its surroundings.
The last Grand Theft Auto, GTA V, came out in 2013 and was recently ported to the latest generation of consoles, becoming the second best-selling game in subsequent years. Bloomberg reports that GTA VI has been in development in some shape or form since 2014, but that progress was slower than initially expected due to a number of factors including a new commitment to work schedules more sustainable and some key, high-profile departures (Dan Houser, creative director of many previous games, left in 2019).
As a result, the game is now slated to come out before March 2024, though some developers told Bloomberg they’re still skeptical that date can be reached. Bloomberg reports that the game’s map was originally planned to span large swathes of North and South America, but Rockstar scaled back those ambitions and instead plans to add more areas and cities after launch.
All of this is reportedly in line with an attempted culture change at the company. Shortly before the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018, Kotaku reported on brutal overtime at the famous studio. There have also been allegations of abusive behavior, including against former development vice president Jerónimo Barrera. Bloomberg reports that in addition to trying to improve working conditions internally, the studio is also trying to be more culturally sensitive, especially since American culture has become, as the article says, a parody of itself in the modern times The GTA games, parodies of American culture dialed up to 11, have been criticized in the past for their misogynistic treatment of women and offensive jokes that target marginalized communities. A playable female protagonist is apparently part of trying to fix that. For now, though, it’s worth noting that we may already be seeing some of the changes that come with a “kinder” culture: GTA V’s next-gen port had transphobic content quietly removed for its new version. Bloomberg also notes that a police-focused mode called Cops ‘n’ Crooks, first reported by Kotaku, appears to have stopped development due to the killing of George Floyd.
Rockstar declined to comment.