We finally have ourfirst official look at Grand Theft Auto 6, with the trailer reaching a staggering 67 million views and 7.5 million likes within the first 24 hours. But while most of the reception has been positive, some gamers are mad abouta woman being at the forefront, spreading rumours that Lucia is trans, and getting angry that Black people exist.
“This is white replacement theory,” one YouTube commenter posted. Another said, “Not a single white person in this trailer. Big surprise.” This is despite,according to the US census itself, Miami being incredibly diverse, which is what Vice City (where GTA 6 is set) is based on.
66 percent of the Miami Gardens population is Black, while Hispanics make up 30.8 percent. There are regions with majority white populations such as Miami Beach and Miami City, but GTA 6 draws a lotof inspiration from Gardens in particular.
One account,@DAKKADAKKA1, simply tweeted a collage of Black people in the GTA 6 trailer with the caption, “It’s all so tiresome.”
YouTuber and TikToker Kommander Karl replied, “Seeing Black people in a video game is tiresome for you?”
There are a lot of similar posts on Twitter, but the series' dedicated subreddit has been quick to delete comments like this. For example,one player said, “Not to sound racist but why is literally every character Black?” before being downvoted and immediately removed.
Others complained of"obese"background characters and the fact that the protagonist is Latina, using homophobic slurs because of the more romantic story inspired by Bonnie & Clyde. Another even said that they were"objecting to propaganda"when confronted by a fan who asked, “Wasn’t San Andreas full of Black people as well?”
There are even gamers “trans-investigating” Lucia followinga tweet from DramaAlertthat said, “She is rumored to be transgender”. The source was a Reddit post from last year with six comments and no basis, but plenty of tweets have since surfaced decrying the game for having a trans lead while attempting to ‘find’ evidence from just looking at Lucia.
“So people are suggesting the new GTA protagonist is trans and people are losing their minds. I’m just here to say that if you’re more comfortable [playing as] Trevor Phillips than you are a trans person, reevaluate yourself” -@FakeJordxn_
While many are angry at the number of Black people in GTA 6 and the mere idea of a trans lead, plenty more have been calling out these comments and shutting down false rumours.The trailer, as mentioned earlier, also has an enormous number of likes, so it’s clear the general response has been overwhelming excitement.
