Since its last Grand Theft Auto game featured three playable protagonists, Rockstar wondered if its next one should offer the same, or better – four playable protagonists. But the developer seems to have quickly decided that would be an awful fate for GTA 6.
Co-studio head Rob Nelson explains to IGN, “After doing GTA 5, we talked about different ideas of – do we do more characters? How do we follow up three characters? Is it four characters now? But we worried about diluting the amount of player time with each and therefore player connection with those characters.”
Finally, “we decided to step in this direction of two characters in a relationship,” says Nelson. The GTA 6 extended look that premiered on Netflix gave us a better understanding of that relationship, the sometimes tense partnership between criminals Lucia and Jason – who are impossible to break up, even if you try. The two are soulmates in breaking the law… though, depending on how you play, they may not be perfectly suited to each other in other parts of life.
It depends on how much you engage with GTA 6’s romance, which Rockstar seems eager for players to experience. Nelson says, “Chemistry is a notoriously hard thing to do in any sort of entertainment. Either the characters and the actors that embody them have it – or they don’t. Everyone involved worked at that pretty hard. I think we’ve got it.
“I think we’ve got enough reaction within our team internally to where [Lucia and Jason] feel great as individuals and together,” the studio lead says.
That last point is important – there’s time in GTA 6 for getting to know both Lucia and Jason as people, not only as a romantic unit. With as many as four protagonists, you’d be juggling an unforgiving social calendar.
Nelson says, “As the narrative unfolds, we’re quite conscious to try and make sure that players have enough time with each character.” Good thing Lucia and Jason aren’t part of a throuple.