Without any official announcement, Rockstar Games seems to have decided to remove certain content deemed transphobic from its famous game Grand Theft Auto V.
It’s a quiet change that will go unnoticed by most GTA V players, but one that the trans community is happy about. Almost 10 years after the game’s release, Rockstar Games has decided to remove certain content deemed transphobic. “Last year we wrote an open letter to Rockstar Games asking them to remove transphobic content from the next-gen version of Grand Theft Auto 5.indicates the association Out Making Games at the origin of the complaints. We are delighted to say that it appears to be the case.”
It was after the publication of an article by Kotaku in September 2021 that the association which helps LGBTQ+ people in the video game sector published an open letter to the Rockstar studio. She demanded that transphobic content be removed from GTA V. Rockstar was accused of fueling stereotypes and violence against the LGBTQ+ community with several references: a character named Drag Queen with very prominent genitals and coarse make-up, or even certain decorative elements of the same caliber.
The models still exist in Director Mode at the moment, but their dialogue options have been removed (presumably this means protagonist dialogue lines to these NPCs about using hormones etc are therefore unused now too).
PC vs. PS5. Thanks @SpiderVice for the PC screens. pic.twitter.com/rjkKkMfBtG
—Kirsty Cloud (@kirstycloud) April 8, 2022
A fight that paid off since even some jokes and some dialogue would have been replaced as a result. It should be noted that Out Making Games has insulted Rockstar Games because of the re-release on PS5, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X of this game originally released in 2013. Discreet, Rockstar Games has made no comment on the subject.