Grand Theft Auto is a franchise associated with violence, open world gameplay, odd characters and all male protagonist. From day one GTA games put players in the virtual shoes of a male character which is no different with Grand Theft Auto V, which actually features 3 men in the lead roles.
Rockstar is a company that not only delivers fantastic and believable open worlds with incredible attention to detail but also good story telling – of course this is subjective but I think most people agree that the developer creates strong and memorable narratives.
Back when GTA IV released we got to play an Easter European mad man who went on many rampages through the game but the DLC delivered some very good and enjoyable content with The Lost biker gang and of course The Ballad of Gay Tony.
The point is that Rockstar was able to take a chance on the characters in the DLC for the game which it couldn’t have done on the main title since it would have been too risky. The same holds true for the excellent GTA V which also puts three pretty safe characters into the world of Los Santos. Yes, Trevor is insane but he is still ‘safe’.
Rockstar has since said that GTA is really a male story and I would agree, a woman would have had a tough time fitting in with purpose and would have been more of a forced novelty.
However, with GTA V now already having sold over a million copies Rockstar has made its money back and parent company Take Two should be very please. Time to take some risks.
GTA Online already allows players to create female characters but there isn’t much of a speaking role with meaningful story behind it which we want to see in a DLC for the main game. I am hopeful that Rockstar can put together some content with a female lead in mind that can fit into the world of Los Santos and its characters.
A standalone DLC is of course the best option to bring a female lead into a game like Grand Theft Auto – it is optional content – you don’t have to play it and it dosn’t hurt the main title or the franchise. In many ways a woman lead in a GTA V expansion is as safe as anything else.
I would love to see a strong empowered woman lead the charge in GTA V, there are so many options here but I will lay out just one example. Picture a female of an race or culture which could be a business woman that has to start some criminal acts on the side because her companies’ stock crash because of a heist our three protagonists cooked up or simply a newbie coming to LS trying to make it.
I am hopeful and excited for the possibilities and would love to take the Grand Theft Auto journey as a woman.
