GTA 6 apparently features a female main character as Rockstar overhauls workplace culture

A new report has suggested that GTA 6 will feature a playable female protagonist, a first for the series.

The report comes from Bloomberg, which details several internal goings-on at Rockstar Games as development of GTA 6 gets underway.

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,” Bloomberg states.

The woman is said to also be a person of colour, and will be paired up with a male protagonist as part of a duo inspired by Bonnie and Clyde.

Bloomberg also reports that Rockstar Games has overhauled its work culture. Previous articles have exposed a culture of crunch, overtime, and poor work/life balance at the studio.

Some games such as Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3 were built on what employees referred to as “death marches” – 14-hour workdays, seven days a week. But that appears to now be changing.

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Bloomberg states that Rockstar has now changed its approach to workplace culture, with changes to scheduling that allows employees to take time back they do overtime. Managers that were reported as abusive have also been ousted, and employees have also been given new mental health and leave benefits.

There are lots of other nuggets of information available in the article, such as developers being cautious not to punch down by making jokes about marginalised groups, which is a contrast to previous games in the series.

It also looks like the game will be set in a “fictionalised version of Miami” – which sounds suspiciously like Vice City is about to make a comeback in the series.

Still, we’ll have to wait for official confirmation from Rockstar if any of the details in this report are true. In my opinion, it would do well for them to be open and honest about the culture overhaul.

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Featured Image: Rockstar Games