A new report discussing workplace conditions at Rockstar Games also claims that a piece of content for GTA Online was quietly canceled in light of the George Floyd protests.
Earlier today, a report from Bloomberg discussed details of how Rockstar has supposedly changed its workplace culture, as well as touching on some Grand Theft Auto 6 details. The report also spoke of a piece of planned content called Cops ‘n’ Crooks that was meant to come to GTA Online, though according to the report, it was shelved without any fanfare.
Senior executives reportedly felt concerned over how the content might be viewed in general due to generally rising mistrust of American police at the time of the 2020 George Floyd protests. And according to those familiar with its development, there aren’t any plans to bring it back.
The mode was apparently planned to be a twist on the children’s game, organizing players into “good guys” and “bad guys,” which sounds fairly reductive when it comes to such a nuanced issue, especially at a time like that.
As noted by Bloomberg, this follows a number of changes at the company that appear to be more conscious of the general state of politics in the US at this point in time. Earlier this year it was found that the new-gen remasters of GTA 5 had cut transphobic content in the game, and new reports indicate that a Latina woman will be one of the lead playable characters in GTA 6, a major first for the series.