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One of the most anticipated games from Rockstar is GTA 6 - the sixth instalment of their immensely popular action-adventure heist series, Grand Theft Auto.
While speculation around the game's release date continues to persist, fans are excited to see what new features Rockstar decides to add in-game. The record-breaking previous installment - GTA 5, was praised for incorporating three protagonists, and the characters of Michael, Franklin and Trevor have gone on to achieve a cult status of their own.
Despite the series' humongous success, the one fatal flaw which continues to draw flak is its depiction of women, which has, for years, been labelled misogynistic, and in tune with sexist stereotypes.
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While one may argue that the feel and tone of the game is portrayed as being overly masculine which is key to the story, a sentiment which has also been shared by Dan Houser, the VP at Rockstar Games in the past, the demand for a female protagonist continues to gain traction, with each passing day.
Keeping that in mind, a recent tweet by Rockstar Games YouTuber SWEGTA, ended up triggering a whole new debate online:
Soon after this tweet went viral, battle lines were drawn as his tweet opened up a Pandora's box related to a female protagonist in GTA 6.
Post Sadie Adler, could Rockstar Games deliver another gem with GTA 6?
Over the course of the video games produced, Rockstar Games has rarely produced definitive female protagonists.
This seemed to change with the arrival of Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018, in the form of Sadie Adler, who made an everlasting impact, despite her relatively limited screen time.
Her fiercely independent personality shines through her character development as we witness her stellar transformation from a widow who hid in her basement, to a fearsome bounty hunter. Her crushing defiance of the damsel in distress trope is what makes her one of the strongest and most definitive female characters in a Rockstar video game.
Keeping this in mind, several from the online community reacted to SWEGTA's suggestion of a female protagonist in GTA 6.
Those in favour, had the following responses to a female protagonist in GTA 6:
While those who disagreed had the following to say:
Some also seemed to have found a middle ground as they vouched for a male as well as a female protagonist in GTA 6:
From the tweets above, its quite evident that a strong duality of perception continues to persist regarding the addition of a female protagonist in GTA 6.
Having said that, Rockstar Games could certainly take a page out of the book of Sadie Adler's success story, and make a strong statement by frontlining a female protagonist in GTA 6, which could very well prove to be a fresh change to the very dynamics of the renowned title.
