Rockstar Says GTA 6 Will Avoid Dated References Like Covid and Trump: 'We Have to Be Careful What We Pick'

Rockstar Games has opened up about the challenges of keeping GTA 6's satire timeless, revealing that the team deliberately avoids including references to recent events like the Covid pandemic or Donald Trump's presidency to prevent the game from feeling outdated.

In an interview with French outlet Trois Couleurs, Rob Nelson, Head of Development at Rockstar, explained that the game's lengthy development cycle—spanning since 2015—makes it crucial to choose parodic elements that will remain relevant. "We develop on very long cycles," Nelson said. "The game's been in development since 2015, so the idea is gestating for a long time. The majority of the team really started rolling on to it after Red Dead Redemption 2 released in 2018."

He added, "We have to be very careful about what ideas we choose to put in there, because it can take a long time to figure out what our angle is on this. By the time we write it, cast it, shoot it, and implement it, whatever it is—it could be gone, it could change, it could be dated. So we're always trying to think about whether something will stand the test of time."

Nelson also noted that Rockstar only picks elements that align with the story and the world of the characters. "I think there will always be things to satirise," he said, pointing to the "stupid challenges" popular among influencers and streamers. "There are always ridiculous situations and behaviours that we can find, but we just have to be careful about what we pick."

This echoes his earlier comments to The New York Times, where he emphasized avoiding "the risk of dating ourselves in a sort of awkward way" with Trump and Covid references. Instead, Rockstar seeks "a timeless sort of quality that will speak very easily to relatable human folly and foibles and will be remembered as part of this time."

As one of the few outlets granted an exclusive preview of GTA 6, IGN has extensive coverage, including details on the romance system, game length, side activities, and map comparisons. For a deep dive, check out 69 new gameplay details from our hands-on time with the game.