Is Lucia GTA’s first female protagonist? The history of female characters in the franchise explored

GTA 6's debut trailer is finally here, offering fans a first look at the upcoming entry in the open-world crime series after a decade-long wait. This has led to the official reveal of the two protagonists: Lucia and a male lead whose name has yet to be confirmed officially. However, the female heroine will likely be the star of the show based on the trailer.

This would lead many to wonder if she is the first-ever female protagonist in the GTA franchise. But is that the case? Let's dive into the history of the iconic franchise to find out more.

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The GTA series has had female protagonists before Lucia

The beloved game franchise has a long history, ever since its inception under DMA Design, which later rebranded to what we now know as Rockstar Games. While the vast majority of installments, including modern entries, have featured only male protagonists, that was not the case early on.

The original Grand Theft Auto, released in the year 1997 for PC (debuting on DOS and later Microsoft Windows) and PlayStation 1, and then in 1999 for the Game Boy Color, featured more than one protagonist.

The PS1 release featured four protagonists, while the original PC version had eight. Game Boy Color had a whopping 24 characters to pick from, which included bonus heroes inspired by developers' likenesses.

Of course, these were just cosmetic differences, as all characters functioned the same during gameplay. But the fact remains that many of the picks available included female leads, like Divine, Katie, Mikki, and Ulrika. These, alongside the male cast, played the role of a criminal-for-hire who assists the Vercotti family in pulling off crimes and heists.

This was followed by GTA 2, where the discreet Game Boy Color version had female protagonists Candy and Gretchen. The handheld rendition also followed the same plotline as the bigger version, replacing Claude Speed with the lead of the player's choice. Since then, however, the series has exclusively stuck with male protagonists, right up to Michael, Franklin, and Trevor in GTA 5.

With that said, the upcoming installment is not the first series entry to feature a female protagonist. But one that is heavily tied into the story? For sure. Having a female lead after such a long time feels like Rockstar is looking to go back to the series' roots but with a modern twist. It remains to be seen how Lucia will compare to the other fan-favorite protagonists in the franchise.

GTA 6 is expected to launch in 2025 exclusively for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles. Be sure to check out the official trailer.