Rockstar Games edits out transphobic content in re-release of 'GTA V'

American video game publisher Rockstar Games appeared to have started removing transphobic content in their March re-release of Grand Theft Auto V.

On Monday (April 18), OutMakingGames - a UK-based collective of LGBT+ game industry professionals - took to Twitter to confirm that Rockstar had taken these inclusive steps.

"Last year, we wrote an open letter to @Rockstar, calling on them to remove transphobic content from GTA 5's next gen release. We're thrilled to say that they have. Thank you to everyone at Rockstar who prioritised this issue," the collective captioned their tweet.

The game's changes were first spotted by someone on Reddit who goes by JayProspero, who noticed that the game's Captain Spaceboy action figure that's found on the wall in an in-game arcade doesn't have the words "interchangeable genitalia" written on its box anymore.

In the original release of GTA V in 2013, the action figure was wearing a bright pink outfit. But now, it is wearing a more muted attire and the toy's feature has been changed to "posable vomit direction"'.

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Kirsty Cloud, an administrator for a Grand Theft Auto community site, GTAnet, also took to Twitter to bring attention to the fact that "drag queens" aren't "spawning outside Cockatoos," an in-game nightclub.

However, she did note that the models are still there in the "Director Mode."

In September 2021, OutMakingGames wrote an open letter to Rockstar, asking the developer to reconsider transphobic game themes.

They honed in on the transphobic jokes within the game and said GTA V leaned on harmful stereotypes.

The collective wrote: "The game appears to purposefully play into extremely harmful stereotypes of trans and gender diverse people to encourage players to be repulsed by them and even to relish hurting and killing them."

They also said that Rockstar has a social responsibility to not "promote violence against trans and gender diverse people."

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