Grand Theft Auto VIās long-awaited first trailer has arrived and in the process confirmed that previous leaks and reports about the game co-starring a playable woman were accurate. However, this isnāt the franchiseās first playable female character. Technically, there have been a few playable women in GTA games before this. The key word in that last sentence is ātechnically.ā
This story was originally published on 07/27/2022. It has been updated following the release of the first GTA VI trailer.
Rockstar Gamesā long-running Grand Theft Auto franchise comprises over a dozen open-world games that feature criminals, shootouts, and lots of stolen cars. Most of the games have revolved around men like CJ or Tommy Vercetti. So it was a pretty big deal when a newly released Bloomberg report in 2022 claimed that the next game in the series, reportedly set in Vice City, will co-star a Latina woman. This was later confirmed on December 4 when Rockstar Games posted GTA VIās first teaser alittle early following a leak.
Many have claimed this is the first time Rockstar had ever let a woman star in a GTA game. But if youāre a big enough GTA nerd, like me, you know that isnāt the case.
The first GTA game to let you play as a woman wasā¦actually, the original Grand Theft Auto, released all the way back in 1997 on PC and PlayStation. That game gave you a list of characters you could choose to play as, which included not just one, but four different women: Divine, Mikki, Katie, and Ulrika
Now, to be clear, these four women werenāt voiced, picking them didnāt change anything in the game, and they, like the other protags in that first GTA, didnāt really have any personality. Beyond their names and character portraits, you couldnāt tell you were playing as a woman on account of the gameās limited visuals and top-down view. But, technically, you could play as a woman in Grand Theft Auto back in the late ā90s.
The next game in the series to let you play as a woman was GTA 2, but specifically the Game Boy Color port of Rockstarās open-world sequel. This version of the game included two more women you could play as: Candy and Gretchen. (This Candy has no connection to the pornstar Candy Suxxx from Vice City.)
Like the women in the first game, these two had no real personality or differences from the similarly blank male options. And like before, once you selected them and started playing, it would be nearly impossible to tell you were playing as a woman in-game. Still, it counts!
Finally, we come to GTA Online and GTAās most famous and fleshed-out female protagonist yet. If youāve played GTA Online, you know that when you start the game you get to choose if you want to be male or female. After that, the game does (mostly) account for your choice, with specific dialogue changes based on your gender.
And while the protagonist of GTA Online doesnāt talk or show much personality, they do sometimes smile, laugh, make choices, and react to events happening around them, which is more than the old-school GTA protags ever managed. So, while itās a low bar to clear, GTA Onlineās female protagonist is also the franchiseās most developed yet.
While sheās not the first woman to be playable in a GTA game, technically, Grand Theft Auto 6’s Lucia is still a big deal for the series. Its previous attempts at including women have been mostly low-effort palette swaps and not well-written or fully-voiced characters with their own personalities.
Assuming GTA VI continues Rockstarās trend of every new game being bigger and more cinematic than the last (for better and for worseā¦), itās likely that this new woman protagonist will finally give the franchise the female lead it has long deservedāand one that can stand toe-to-toe with any of the men.
