The GTA 6 Rumor That Keeps Respawning
The rumor mill has been rife with chatter about Grand Theft Auto 6 lately. A rumor that players will have the option to play as a female protagonist in the next installment in the series has resurfaced and is sparking some interesting conversation online.
Popular Call of Duty YouTuber Tom Henderson, also known as TheLongSensation, resurrected the rumor on Sunday, Jan. 10 via his Twitter account. "For the first time ever in a GTA title, GTA 6 will have a playable female and male protagonist," Henderson tweeted, seemingly out of the blue. It's important to note that players could technically choose between a variety of both male and female playable characters in Grand Theft Auto 1.
Henderson has reportedly leaked "credible" information in the past, and his tweet had a lot of fans in the Grand Theft Auto community asking questions. Will this character have her own storyline? Will she share a combined storyline like the three protagonists in Grand Theft Auto 5? Will she be a character players have previously met? Or will players simply have the option to choose their gender at character creation? It's not clear, and Henderson did not elaborate.
Rockstar has yet to acknowledge any information about Grand Theft Auto 6 so far, but a large number of rumors have surfaced, including that it will release in 2022 at the earliest. A lot has changed in the world since GTA 5's 2013 launch that could make for some interesting social commentary in a series that doesn't shy away from controversy.
That said, several individuals, such as Grantland's Molly Lambert and The Guardian's Cassie Rodenberg, have taken aim at Rockstar for its portrayal of female characters and general refusal to include a female lead. Rockstar has also faced criticism in recent years for reportedly paying its female developers less than their male counterparts.
A long time has passed since Rockstar featured a female playable character in one of its stories. According to an interview with Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser, that was an intentional decision for Grand Theft Auto 5. "The concept of being masculine was so key to this story," Houser told The Guardian in 2013.
Henderson's tweet is hardly the first time fans and critics have discussed the rumored possibility of getting a female protagonist in the series. The topic has come up on multiple occasions since the release of GTA 5. If the rumor proves true, it would be a major change of pace for Rockstar's next Grand Theft Auto installment and possibly a move in the right direction for a growing number of fans of all genders.