Debates are swirling in the Grand Theft Auto fanbase right now, as fans spot a tiny moment in the new GTA 6 trailer that some are calling 'woke'. This has left many to question whether this has always been present within the series' long history.
Grand Theft Auto has never been a franchise to shy away from social commentary, as it's present everywhere from the main characters to even the radio stations, but the current climate of the gaming world has left a small section of fans more frustrated than others.
With the rise of far-right politics, Donald Trump back in power, and Elon Musk all over the news, there was bound to be plenty of material for GTA 6 developer Rockstar Games to work with ahead of the title’s now-delayed release, yet it's one particularly 'woke' moment in the new jaw-dropping trailer that has managed to rile some people up.
What are people calling 'woke' in GTA 6?
As shared by u/Adventuruous_Top_9299 on the r/GTA6 subreddit, a billboard for a fictional baked goods company called 'Tiny Frank' (a mockery of the real-life Little Debbie) was spotted in the game's second trailer, and a small section of frustrated fans are seeing it as a 'woke' move from Rockstar.
The billboard itself features a character with open arms underneath a rainbow of sweet treats, with the words "Proud Allies Of Diversity 'n' Treats" above his head.
This is clearly a reference to the LGBT-friendly marketing campaigns that many of the world's biggest companies have introduced over the past decade, and many have even suggested that its a satire of 'rainbow capitalism' - where certain companies have "used the pride movement to try to look good but don't actually care," as explained by one comment in the thread.
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That approach isn't shared by everyone, as some have taken this as a sign that Rockstar and GTA 6 have 'gone woke' - whatever that even means anyway.
"WOKETAR," writes one angry user on the Reddit thread, whereas one post on X, after interpreting the sign as 'woke', asks: "When are you going to learn NOT to trust corporate brands?"
Has GTA always been 'woke'?
Many people are claiming in response to the anger of some anti-woke fans, is that the series has always been 'woke'. Well, at least when you consider the traditional definition of the term.
"Woke doesn't mean what you think it means," explains a popular comment on the Reddit thread. "GTA has always been woke, at its core (4 and 5 especially), it's a critique of American culture, capitalism, and the lengths people will go to achieve success. Satirizing and criticizing the dominant socio-cultural landscape is woke."
As mentioned previously, this billboard is almost definitely poking fun at the capitalistic intent of pride-focused marketing, not the fact it's supportive of the LGBT community in the first place, and that largely falls in line with much of Rockstar’s jabs across the series' history.
From a more basic level, too, GTA 6 features Lucia - a woman - as a co-main character for the first time. You can even look back to GTA 4's second expansion named 'The Ballad of Gay Tony', which would no doubt send much of the anti-woke crowd into a fit if it were released today.