After Decades Of Making Us Play As Men, GTA 6’s Lucia Has A Lot To Prove

Grand Theft Auto has always had a complicated relationship with women. For decades, it’s been known as the series where you can visit a strip club, hire a sex worker, and swiftly beat her to death in the nearest alley. Violence against women in virtual settings praised for their unflinching realism is frequently turned into a punchline players are expected to chuckle at again and again and again. But with the arrival of player character Lucia Caminos in the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 later this year, Rockstar has an opportunity to completely redefine the franchise’s problematic dynamic with women and potentially introduce one of the strongest female protagonists this medium has ever seen--but we all know that sticking the landing is easier said than done.