The upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6 has long been the source of fan-led debate and discussion, given that fans have waited over a decade for the next installment to the iconic and massively successful franchise. A huge amount of anticipation follows the game, with many assuming that the release will be bigger and better than its longstanding predecessor in almost every way.
With that being said, there are many aspects of Grand Theft Auto 6 that face a difficult task in besting their GTA 5 counterparts, and the main involved protagonists of the upcoming game are a great example of this. The rumors about GTA 6's protagonists are quite interesting, but the unforgettable triple protagonist make-up of Grand Theft Auto 5 has set the franchise's standards extremely high.
The Success of Grand Theft Auto 5's Protagonists
It can be said that Grand Theft Auto 5 revolutionized the IP in many ways, but the way in which the game approached its protagonists was arguably the most influential. Crucially, GTA 5 had three central protagonists in its main story, with all three characters directly interacting with each other throughout the narrative.
Players could freely switch between these three characters in free roam exploration, as well as in scripted mission sequences that greatly opened up the scale and offered up some memorable set pieces. Each of GTA 5's three protagonists held the same amount of importance in the story; each character represented different aspects of Grand Theft Auto's polarizing caricature of the United States.
Michael De Santa and Trevor Phillips are two career criminals who experienced very different ends of the crime life spectrum; Michael finds his life of luxury unbearably monotonous, while Trevor's unhinged personality is a perfect match for a life of squalor and wanton cruelty. Franklin Clinton represents a youth who turns to crime as a means of escaping his socioeconomic deprivation, with Franklin seeing Michael as a role-model of criminality at its most profitable. The three protagonists of GTA 5 were complex and unique, yet interacted with each other in such an intriguing and natural way that it is no wonder they were so adored by fans.
Grand Theft Auto 6's "Bonnie and Clyde" Protagonists
Not much is currently known in an official capacity in terms of the core details of Grand Theft Auto 6, although solid rumors regarding the game have been circulating for some time. Of course, a lot of these rumors were recently corroborated thanks to the extensive GTA 6 leaks from September 2022.
A lot of this information pertains to the protagonists of Grand Theft Auto 6, and it appears that Rockstar may dial things back to two protagonists in Grand Theft Auto 6. It is rumored that these two protagonists will be a man and a woman, which would make GTA 6 the first time that the Grand Theft Auto franchise has featured a female protagonist.
Allegedly named Jason and Lucia, many have speculated that these two protagonists will act as a kind of Bonnie and Clyde for GTA, as they're a romantic couple who commit large-scale crimes together. This is a fascinating potential dynamic that will open up a kind of narrative that the franchise has never explored before, although it remains that becoming more memorable than the protagonists of Grand Theft Auto 5 will be a very tough task. GTA 5 featured a trio of protagonists who were seemingly more entrenched in the criminal underworld, so GTA 6's dual protagonists clearly have their work cut out for them.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is currently in development.