Ever since the first GTA VI trailer dropped, Rockstar’s upcoming blockbuster has been tearing fans apart. While some can’t wait to get their hands on GTA VI, others are already talking about boycotting it. Not because of its features or gameplay, but because they claim that GTA VI is “woke.”
A Latina lead, a more diverse cast, and signs that Rockstar is cleaning up its frat-boy culture sent some players spiraling. To them, that’s a warning sign: They fear that GTA VI won’t dare to offend anyone, losing the satire that made previous Grand Theft Auto games so popular.
But GTA has never been about pleasing everyone. It’s about making fun of our society, whether players like it or not—and some definitely aren’t liking what they see of GTA VI so far. The world has changed since GTA V’s release 12 years ago, and GTA VI won’t be the same as its predecessor.
No matter how loud the complaints get, most of the haters will still end up stealing cars and killing anyone they can. They just want something to yell about on the way to preorder, and that might not be because GTA VI is woke.
How one woman broke the internet (again)
People started complaining about GTA VI being woke after Rockstar revealed the game’s two protagonists: Lucia and Jason. The trailers introduced them as a Bonnie and Clyde duo, mixing romance with crime—but some players weren’t thrilled with the dynamic. More specifically, they weren’t thrilled about having to play as a Latina.
Fans raised concerns that—as males—they wouldn’t feel as invested in the story if they were playing as a female. But minorities have played as white, muscular male leads for decades without complaint.
Sure, some players prefer games that make them feel stronger and smarter than they are in real life. But what truly makes games stand out is the story, no matter who tells it.
Over the last few years, many great games starred non-stereotypical male characters. The Last of Us 2 featured a lesbian protagonist smashing zombies alongside a bisexual woman and transgender teenage boy. This didn’t stop it from being widely considered one of the best games of recent years—because its story resonated with players, not because of what the main characters looked like.
The same goes for other Game of the Year nominees, like Baldur’s Gate 3, and the controversy regarding the ability to date any character, no matter their gender. Horizon Forbidden West and its lesbian lead faced similar backlash.
If a story is compelling, it doesn’t matter who you play. The opposite is true: Some games will make you play as someone you’d dream of becoming, but if the narrative arc isn’t good enough, you won’t stick around long enough for this game to make you feel immersed in its universe. Looking at you, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Welp… looks like GTA 6 is gonna suck pic.twitter.com/luTWdJuKvK
— Rusty Cage (@RSTYCG) December 5, 2023
For years, GTA has starred male characters. Claude, Tommy Vercetti, CJ, Niko Bellic, Michael, Franklin, Trevor: they’ve all marked their respective generation of Grand Theft Auto players. Women were usually side characters or background flavors, often hypersexualized or objectified.
Lucia’s introduction in GTA VI marks a first in the series. However, she’s not the first female playable character in the series. The original 1997 Grand Theft Auto allowed players to choose from a selection of four female characters: Divine, Mikki, Katie, and Ulrika.
GTA 2 also features two playable female characters, Candy and Gretchen. But yes, Lucia is the first female lead in the 3D era of GTA. And it might actually be good news.
Rockstar previously made some great female characters in GTA. Catalina, the leader of the Colombian Cartel in GTA 3, was one of the best antagonists in the entire franchise. Asuka Kasen, the co-leader of Liberty City’s Yakuza syndicate, was also pretty ruthless.
Women in GTA weren’t just pretty useless bimbos: Rockstar knows how to tell crime stories, no matter the gender of those who commit the crimes.
Having a female lead in GTA VI isn’t a sign Rockstar is going woke, or that there’s some kind of agenda erasing white males in favor of forced diversity. It’s a sign GTA is in touch with society—whether players like it or not.
The feeling of forced diversity in GTA VI
Besides the fact that Lucia is a female character, another topic fueled criticism upon the release of GTA VI’s trailers: the lack of white people. Lucia is Latina, and the beach in the second trailer is prominently featured with black characters. Some fans argued this felt like forced diversity, increasing their feeling that GTA VI is woke.
It’s all so tiresome. pic.twitter.com/lgFmSfFEBs
— DAKKADAKKA (@DAKKADAKKA1) December 5, 2023
GTA VI is set in the fictional US state of Leonida, based on Florida. More specifically, the game is based on Miami, which inspired Vice City. While there are regions with a mainly white population like Miami Beach and Miami City, the second trailer for GTA VI seems to draw a lot of inspiration from Miami Gardens in particular, which is about 70 percent African‑American and 26 percent Hispanic.
Having a Latina protagonist and people of color in GTA VI’s trailers actually mirrors the local demographics. GTA has always been a satire of our society, so it makes sense to show our society as it is rather than how some would like it to be.
Moreover, it’s not the first GTA game starring non-white characters. In 2004, San Andreas followed CJ through a world populated largely by Black and Hispanic characters—but it didn’t seem to bother players as much as it does in 2025.
GTA’ VIs “gay agenda”
There is a third reason why some players feel like GTA VI is woke. They expressed their outrage at the idea that Rockstar might be imposing a gay agenda with GTA VI. These individuals felt like Jason and other males were hypersexualized in the trailers, with their shirtless, muscular bodies. And when Rockstar confirmed there would be gay strip clubs in GTA VI, conservative players lost their minds.
Straight men gonna have to pick him or the girl as a playable character and idk what’s gayer https://t.co/SEPErVc5TW
— raticoncito (@n0thasghey) May 6, 2025
Most likely, GTA VI won’t force anyone to make out with male prostitutes. It’s a game where players have the freedom to kill, steal, or engage in whatever criminal activity suits their fantasy.
Adding more options simply expands that freedom. It doesn’t make anyone do something they don’t want to. It’s just giving more ways to enjoy a fictional life of crime.
Changes at Rockstar and fear for the future of GTA
Some of the concerns about GTA VI being woke come from changes within Rockstar itself. Several key members left the company over the past few years, including Dan Houser, co-founder of Rockstar and lead writer for most of the Grand Theft Auto games.
Earlier this year, Michael Unsworth, Rockstar’s VP of writing who scripted both Red Dead Redemption games as well as GTA IV and V, announced he’d left too. It’s natural for fans to worry that without the team behind the previous games in the franchise, the writing might suffer.
But it’s worth noting GTA has survived major shifts before. When Leslie Benzies, lead developer on the Grand Theft Auto series and president of Rockstar North, left the company in 2016, Rockstar still delivered two of its most popular games to date: GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2.
All long-running studios lose people, and fresh writers can still honor the old spirit. Despite key members leaving the studio, Rockstar has a solid track record of sharp social commentary, from Red Dead Redemption’s tackling racism to GTA V’s critique of capitalism. While some staff have left, the studio’s tone hasn’t changed much throughout the years.
However, it’s also true that not all studios manage to keep their core DNA when key members leave. After Peter Molyneux left Lionhead Studios, the team struggled to keep Fable’s spirit alive, ultimately leading to the studio’s closure and the cancellation of Fable Legends. Telltale Games faced a similar fate, expanding too fast and crashing hard.
It’s natural for fans to worry their favorite franchise will lose its edge. But with only two trailers out and GTA VI postponed to 2026, it’s still too early to tell if the game will lose its bite.
DEI training and Rockstar’s internal politics
On top of losing some iconic writers and developers, Rockstar made some internal changes. It seems that employees received “Unconscious Bias” and “Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging” training. Fans are worried this will lead to fewer edgy jokes or less offensive content.
Rockstar and GTA are cooked with DEI.
— Grummz (@Grummz) December 4, 2024
Endymion exposes @RockstarGames , studio is completely DEI infested. Will it affect GTA 6?
Endymion and @FrancescoSolbak go deep with their video and article on the studio by @TPPNewsNetwork
(links in reply)
The detail and breath of DEI… pic.twitter.com/23xhChaCbU
However, just because Rockstar is giving employees training in unconscious bias and inclusion doesn’t mean the games will go soft.
GTA’s edge comes from skewering everyone, not from punching down. Being more mindful internally doesn’t cancel out biting satire—it just means Rockstar might hit smarter, not softer.
Censorship in GTA
Another source of worry is content removal. Since society and its humour have evolved over the years, Rockstar has had to make changes to adapt. In recent years, Rockstar quietly scrubbed certain material out of GTA V. The PS5 and Xbox re-release cut elements and dialogues deemed transphobic. The Confederate flag on Trevor’s truck was also changed out for the American flag back in 2015.
So people are suggesting the new GTA protagonist is trans and people are losing their minds. I’m just here to say that if you’re more comfortable play Trevor Phillips than you are a Trans person, reevaluate yourself. #GTA6
— HVNR | Jordxn (@FakeJordxn) December 5, 2023
Then again, Rockstar isn’t the only company to change controversial content from its games. Blizzard edited Overwatch 2’s Pride map to repaint police cars as black SUVs, acknowledging the “no cops at Pride” sentiment regarding police violence against LGBTQIA+ communities.
When big companies make these changes, it feels natural for some players to fear they are going woke and will lose their identities. But removing an insensitive easter egg is not the same as altering a whole narrative. GTA’s core story, its tone, and violence all remain intact.
GTA isn’t changing, society is
The Grand Theft Auto series has consistently been a satire of society. From parody brands to cynical takes on politics and religion, it has never pulled punches. But as our society evolves, so does Grand Theft Auto.
GTA isn’t going woke—society is just moving. The series has always mirrored the world around it with brutal, over-the-top satire. The fear that GTA VI will go soft isn’t based on much more than speculation. What some call woke is often just the game keeping pace with the times. Rockstar might change, but if history tells us anything, GTA will still be swinging at everything in sight.
The woke controversy is more about players being worried than actual proof GTA changed its DNA for a more family-friendly format.
At the end of the day, players will still be able to murder random people in the street and commit atrocious crimes. They just have more ways to enjoy their criminal life and be whoever they want to be.
In an extensive interview with GQ in 2018, Dan Houser himself felt that some players wouldn’t like GTA VI, no matter what they did with the game. The co-founder of Rockstar stated that “it’s really unclear what we would even do with [GTA VI], let alone how upset people would get with whatever we did.” Seven years later, and before we can even get our hands on GTA VI, this statement still rings true.
For now, all we know is that GTA VI is one of the most anticipated games of this decade and that players have all kinds of theories regarding what the game will be like. We also know that Lucia and Jason aren’t softies afraid of committing crimes.
We know Rockstar quietly cleaned house on jokes it no longer thought were funny—and that the developer didn’t hold back from criticizing society in the recent trailers. Just look at how it mocks cops, gun culture, and extreme patriotism.
When satire hits closer to home
The real change isn’t the introduction of powerful females and people of color in a neighborhood known for its diverse ethnicity. It’s how GTA VI comments on our society. Instead of punching down on minorities with lazy stereotypes and slurs, it’s giving a sharper commentary on the world we live in.
From what we’ve seen in the trailers, GTA VI isn’t holding back. There’s a scene with cops roughing up a suspect while talking like street thugs, and another with a gun-obsessed patriot proudly showing off his arsenal—clear jabs at real-world issues. The satire is still there, just more current. GTA VI isn’t losing its edge, it’s just evolving how it lands its hits.
GTA used to lampoon rock stars, politics, and even its own players. It never spared anyone. If GTA VI has more Latinos, Black people, and women, that’s not “going woke.” It more accurately reflects what the neighborhoods that inspired GTA VI actually look like.
Change can be scary, especially for a game that players have been waiting for so long. But Rockstar is known for its well-written characters and amazing gameplay experience.
For now, all we have to do is wait and see. Regardless of the discussion regarding GTA VI becoming woke, it will still be one of the best-selling games of 2026 and will top gaming charts for years to come.
