Rockstar intends to ply a dual protagonist path inGrand Theft Auto 6, continuing in the footsteps of the beloved criminal trifecta of Michael, Trevor, and Franklin. After almost a decade of radio silence from the developer, the official trailer revealed in December 2023 gave fans a much-needed glimpse into one of gaming’s heavyweight franchises. Besides the exotic choice of a Miami-inspired Vice City and other anticipated cosmetic improvements,GTA 6’s play on a Bonnie and Clyde relationshipdynamic with its main characters is the talk of the town. However, while the trailer teased juicy details about Lucia’s background, her male partner is something of an unknown quantity – which could pose problems for the narrative Rockstar is trying to build.
Rumors and theGTAfranchise are symbiotic twins at this point, and although Rockstar managed to put a lot of the theories about the next iteration to bed with the official announcement, it birthed at least a dozen more trains of thought as to the directionGrand Theft Auto 6’s plot would follow. The trailer was practically a showcase for Lucia; the franchise’s first female lead in about 30 years, and it confirmed her role as a felon by displaying her in a jail cell. Along with subsequent artwork showing off her ankle bracelet, the outline of her story is coming together nicely as Rockstar continues to drop more tidbits. That of her male counterpart, on the other hand, is still very much in the shadows.
Rockstar’s decision to flesh out details of Lucia’s character and push her as the face ofGTA 6for the time being isn’t difficult to rationalize. The franchise hasn’t had a dominant female figure since it transitioned to 3D modeling, and such a pronounced absence raised questions about inclusivity that any AAA title would be wise to avoid.
GTA 6’s Focus on Lucia Puts Some Pressure on its Male Protagonist
Marketing Lucia front-and-center is a welcome development, but the second protagonist has hardly seen significant screen time or promos as an unintended byproduct. As such, rumors about his involvement inGTA 6’s events are rife, with a prominent one suggestingthe maleGTA 6protagonist is an undercover cop.
Based onGTA 6’s announcement trailerwhere he commits crimes together with Lucia while avoiding similar consequences, an undercover role makes some sense. However, there are questions about how such a dynamic would unfold storywise, along with potential ramifications forGTA Onlinegameplay. Besides these potential hitches, Rockstar risks an underwhelming reveal the longer the male protagonist’s role remains unknown. In the spirit of the Bonnie and Clyde bit that Rockstar seems likely to employ, Lucia’s yet-to-be-named partner must be as compelling and eccentric as she is.
If it turns out that his character has a more ordinary criminal plotline, it’s not hard to imagine tangible disappointment in the fan base. Such a development would be unsatisfying, to say the least, since rumors are pointing towards an undercover role, which would be an unexpected plot twist akin toGTA 5’s non-canon protagonist betrayal endings.
There are still so many questions yet to be answered aboutGTA 6, and Rockstar has inadvertently created a problem by not revealing the male protagonist’s background as it did for Lucia. The element of mystery only grows over time, and that’s a high-risk-high-reward gambit. If the male lead goes on to feature such a marked storyline twist, it could pay off. On the other hand,GTA 6’s biggest rumorturning out to be nothing significant could come back to bite the franchise in terms of making a big splash.
Grand Theft Auto 6
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Grand Theft Auto VI heads to the state of Leonida, home to the neon-soaked streets of Vice City and beyond in the biggest, most immersive evolution of the Grand Theft Auto series yet.Jason and Lucia have always known the deck is stacked against them. But when an easy score goes wrong, they find themselves on the darkest side of the sunniest place in America, in the middle of a criminal conspiracy stretching across the state of Leonida — forced to rely on each other more than ever if they want to make it out alive.
