Children in GTA 6: Is Rockstar breaking an open-world rule that was considered sacrosanct?

By
Thomas
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A new screenshot is said to show a child in a GTA game for the first time, sparking debate on a sensitive topic.

The GTA series is notorious for its unflinching portrayal of violence, crime, and social ills, but one line has been considered sacrosanct until now: Children simply did not exist in the Grand Theft Auto universe – except in GTA Online, where they hurl insults at you in voice chat.

But with GTA 6, Rockstar could soften this self-imposed rule for the first time, as some fans are now speculating.

A screenshot is causing a stir

The speculation began with a single screenshot that Rockstar posted on its website after the second trailer for GTA 6. The community thinks it shows a conspicuously small person sitting at a table – too small to be a normal adult.

The scene is set in the Grassrivers region, and the figure is sitting with two significantly larger people. For many fans, it’s clear: It must be a child.

But the community is divided: While some are already celebrating the child (or fantasizing about beating it up) in the comments, others argue that it could also be a short adult or a camera angle that makes the figure appear smaller.

There is no absolute certainty.

It is no coincidence that there have been no children in the open world of GTA so far: Rockstar and many other development studios deliberately refrain from allowing child characters to appear in their game worlds.

If players were given the opportunity to harm children in the game, the next escalation in the debate on violent games would be inevitable. The public outcry – especially in politically sensitive circles – would be immense.

Other big names in the genre, such as Skyrim, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Cyberpunk 2077, do feature children, but they always draw a clear line: they are invulnerable, mechanically exempt from violence, cannot be found in the open world, or disappear as soon as you draw a weapon or get into a car.

So far, there has only been one real child in the series – Mary-Beth Williams’ baby in GTA Vice City Stories, during a cutscene. If Rockstar does decide to include children in the open world of GTA 6, they will most likely only be untouchable extras or story elements.

And that would probably be the smarter solution if Rockstar wants to get an age rating for its game anywhere in the world.