rockstar considered four protagonists for gta 6, worried about diluting player time

Saw this on PC Gamer and it's wild to think about. Rockstar apparently kicked around the idea of four protagonists for GTA 6 before settling on Lucia and Jason. The article quotes someone from the studio asking,

"How do we follow up three characters? Is it four characters now?"

That's a real question after GTA 5. Three protagonists worked because each one had a distinct personality and a chunk of the map that felt like theirs. But four? I can see why they backed off. The worry was diluting the amount of player time with each character. You'd end up with four half-baked arcs instead of two solid ones.

I'm honestly glad they went with two. GTA 5's trio was great but Michael and Franklin carried most of the emotional weight while Trevor was the chaos button. Four would have been a mess. Lucia and Jason being a couple already gives them a built-in dynamic that three or four separate characters wouldn't have. Plus the Bonnie and Clyde angle is way more interesting than juggling four strangers.

Still, it's fun to imagine what a four protagonist GTA 6 would look like. Maybe a cop, a cartel member, a street racer, and a corrupt politician? But then you'd need four safehouses, four phone contacts, four sets of missions. The pacing would suffer. Rockstar made the right call.

Source: PC Gamer · Curated content.

"Diluting player time" sounds like focus-tested PR for scope creep. Two protagonists work only if Jason gets actual depth, not just tag-along dialogue. After GTA 5's lopsided trio, I'll believe the balance when I play it.

Four characters would have been a nightmare for anyone with a job and kids. I'm still trying to finish side quests from games I bought in 2022.

tag-along dialogue

That is my worry exactly. GTA 5 left Franklin feeling half-finished next to Michael and Trevor. With my limited hours I'll take a tighter story over a crowded roster any day.

Two protagonists means the soundtrack can finally breathe! In GTA 5 I'd swap to Trevor and suddenly he's screaming at someone while Channel X blared. Total mood killer. With Lucia and Jason, every needle drop can land with intention. Four characters would make the radio feel like a crowded mixtape and nobody wants that!

Give me two fully realized people over four strangers I'll forget by the third act.