Before GTA 6, a surprising percentage of adults thought investing in a fictional relationship was cheating
GTA6 arrives in November and focuses on a relationship between its two protagonists, Jason and Lucia. The recent GTA 6 Launch Trailer featured three steamy intimate scenes in the shower and, according to GTA 6 PreviewsJason and Lucia can kiss at the touch of a button and walk around holding hands. Screenshots suggest the two can go on beach dates and go shopping, and Rockstar said their relationship can blossom or fade depending on how quickly you respond on the game’s mobile phones.
This Bonnie and Clyde-style relationship is at the center of Rockstar’s next game, and you can participate in it as much or as little as you want. But you might want to talk to your romantic partner in real life first.
In September, British polling company YouGov asked 4,000 British adults whether or not they would consider dating in a video game to be cheating. About 6% of respondents said would be consider it cheating, while another 19% said that while they didn’t consider it cheating, they would disagree with it.
That’s a pretty surprising number of people who think smashing pixels together is some kind of betrayal. Women were significantly more opposed to it than men. Only 4% of men would consider it cheating, compared to 7% of women. Among those who didn’t consider it cheating but still disagreed with it, this represented 13% of men and 24% of women surveyed.
THE BBC published an article about the poll, starting with a title that was a question: Can you fool someone with a video game character? This framing led to some negative reactions from players.
“No, video game characters aren’t real, get your act together ffs!” said Stetson spatula. “Can you be arrested for murdering someone on duty? ” request another X/Twitter user.
Many responses focused on established games like The Sims, which let you live an alternative domestic life in which your Sims get married, have children, and follow career paths while furnishing their homes. The perceived hypocrisy here is that players have been playing relationships for a long time before GTA 6.
The “cheating” potential of GTA 6 has already been mentioned. Back in August, we reported how a number of angry spouses on social media said they thought GTA 6’s relationship mechanics were so deep that it was the equivalent of cheating on your real-life partner and worth breaking up over. On TikTok, for example, a number of concerned people said they wouldn’t let their partner play this game.
Rockstar has also been very clear that you don’t have to engage in this part of GTA 6 if you don’t want to. Jason and Lucia want a relationship from the start of the game, but it’s up to the player to actively pursue this. If you don’t, they won’t be as head over heels for each other, but they will still support each other when it matters most. If you choose to make the two a power couple, you’ll likely get more out of the game.
“When you bring them together, you feel like you’re a steward of their relationship and you feel protective of them as a unit,” Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson told IGN. “But it’s something we didn’t know when we started, and it really had to be something we felt to work our way through. But I will say, whether you’re in trouble, whether you’re running from the cops, whether you’re getting in a car or waiting for each other, playing with them together is very cool. It’s like you’re taking care of them, if that’s something you’re passionate about.”
Rockstar is currently working hard on the marketing front ahead of next month’s release. Last week I saw real cars modified to look like GTA vehicles being driven around Miami.
Gn tech
