The lifespan of Grand Theft Auto 5 has now stretched out through three console generations. In that time, the game has largely stayed the same, outside of any additions to Grand Theft Auto Online, which has attributed to its prolonged lifespan. In that time, society has evolved outside of the game. Some jokes or gags have become insensitive and developers become more aware of deliberately or unconsciously creating offensive content in games. 10 years after the development cycle of Grand Theft Auto 5, some of the game's background dressing and NPCs have been updated and altered to address some jokes that haven't aged well.
In the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S update of GTA 5, transphobic jokes and content seem to have been removed. This was noticed by members of the GTA community and compiled into a thread on Twitter by Kristy Cloud, an admin on the GTA Forums.
The drag queens or crossdressers no longer spawn outside of Cockatoos, a bar that the player can't go into but can interact with patrons standing outside. Voice lines with transphobic dialogue in reference to taking hormones and comments referencing gender confirmation have also been removed along with a reference to a toy that had "interchangeable genitalia." The thread also claims that the UK-based group of game developers OutMakingGames did correspond with Rockstar Games about some transphobic content in Grand Theft Auto 5. They recently confirmed that they were in touch with Rockstar Games and are pleased with the developer's response.
Even as Rockstar Games has a reputation for putting elaborate parodies of real-world incidents and topics, there is going to be a line. The line has moved from where it was in 2013 when the game was first released to the present day. What was seen by Rockstar as fine then is not seen as such now, and the company has listened to constructive criticism. Cloud referenced another GTA Community member's thoughts about the changes in their thread concerning possible cries of censorship. These references may not have even started out as jokes meant to be transphobic but corners of the GTA Community morphed them into caricatures that may be used to cause offense.
There is some pushback against the change, of course. Some gamers will play devil's advocate for Rockstar Games' penchant for habitual line stepping when making jokes about real-world issues. However, writers at Rockstar Games have the ability to make longstanding, witty commentary that can even include marginalized groups without being offensive.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is out now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Gamebyte