original gta devs on the tabloid freakout: we made a bloody good game

"I think some of the team were a little shocked by the tabloid response," says original GTA dev: "We'd made a game that gamers, critics, and the people actually playing all thought was pretty bloody good"

Reading this GamesRadar piece about the original GTA devs reflecting on the tabloid response got me thinking. The quote is from one of the original team, saying they were a little shocked by how the tabloids reacted, but that gamers, critics, and people actually playing all thought it was pretty bloody good. That's the thing about this series, it's always had this weird double life. The media loses its mind, politicians grandstand, and meanwhile everyone who actually plays it is having a great time.

I wasn't around for the first GTA's launch, I was too young, but I've read the old articles. The Daily Mail and similar rags were calling it a murder simulator, saying it would corrupt the youth. Same playbook they used for Doom, for Mortal Kombat, for everything. And now look, GTA is one of the biggest entertainment franchises on the planet. The tabloids didn't stop it, they probably helped it.

Fast forward to GTA 6. We're less than three months out from launch. The extended look is dropping today. And I'm already seeing the same tired takes starting to bubble up. People clutching pearls about the violence, about Lucia and Jason being a couple, about the strip clubs or whatever. It's like clockwork. But the original devs' point stands: the people who actually play these games know what they're getting. It's not mindless violence, it's satire, it's storytelling, it's a world you can get lost in.

I wonder if the team at Rockstar now is bracing for the same tabloid storm. They've been through it with every GTA since 3. The Hot Coffee thing, the torture scene in 5, the leaks. They know the drill. But maybe this time it'll be different because the audience is so much bigger and more mainstream. Or maybe the tabloids will just find a new angle, like the $80 price tag or the fact that it's current-gen only.

Anyway, the quote from the original dev is a good reminder. The game was good, and that's what mattered. The outrage was noise. I'm hoping GTA 6 is the same. What do you all think, will the tabloids even bother this time or have they moved on to something else?

Source: GamesRadar+ · Curated content.