GTA 6 Is Facing A Ban In At Least One Country

"Grand Theft Auto 6" is without a doubt one of the most anticipated video games of 2026. The first mainline entry in Rockstar's open-world crime series in over a decade, "GTA 6" endured years of delays before finally settling on its current November 19, 2026 release date. The game, which revolves around criminal couple Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos, sees the franchise return to its Miami-inspired setting of Vice City. However, not every territory is set to get an official release of "GTA 6." According to reports coming out of Russia, politicians are pushing for the country to ban the game.

While this news may generate plenty of headlines, it's important to note that Take-Two Interactive (the owner of Rockstar Games) is among the major video game publishers that suspended game sales in Russia due to the country's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This means that "GTA 6" wouldn't have gone on sale in Russia anyway, regardless of whether officials opt to ban it or not. As such, any concerns raised by politicians in Russia over "Grand Theft Auto" are essentially performative until the suspension is lifted.

Mikhail Ivanov, who is a member of the Bryansk Oblast Duma regional parliament as well as the deputy chairman of the World Russian People's Council, has called for a ban on "Grand Theft Auto 6" in Russia on moral grounds. "The creators of 'GTA 6' deliberately go to include destructive and vulgar content in their product, [which is] completely unacceptable to the moral health of society," Ivanov told a Russian news outlet (via Mandatory). "This includes the planned inclusion of scenes of male striptease in the game, which is a direct and cynical violation of basic moral norms and traditional spiritual values."

One of the images from the game shared on Rockstar's website is of an adult club called Delights, and while there's a poster outside the building advertising male dancers, there's been no confirmation that the game will actually include "scenes of male striptease," as Ivanov put it. Despite that, he's pushing hard for action to be taken. "We need to either impose strict legal restrictions on the distribution of such games in Russia or require publishers to release special versions for our market, cleared of immoral content," he added.

The fact that Ivanov is offended by the idea of male dancers in the game as opposed to just dancers in general speaks to Russia's recent history of culture wars, with the government "intensifying persecution of gay and trans people," according to a 2024 New Lines Magazine report. It's possible that Ivanov is using this as a way to further that agenda. Of course, "Grand Theft Auto" has caused real-life controversies in the past. This latest one is unlikely to make Rockstar consider censoring parts of the latest game for territorial releases.

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