Grand Theft Auto 6 is taking a different approach to its protagonists than GTA 5 did, but the decision did not come out of nowhere. GTA 5 had three playable characters, with Michael, Franklin, and Trevor each bringing their own stories, personalities, and perspectives to the game. It was a major departure for the series at the time (especially after GTA 4 focused almost entirely on Niko Bellic), but Rockstar had another major change to consider with its next games.
Red Dead Redemption 2 went in the opposite direction by putting almost all of its attention on Arthur Morgan. Rockstar initially had some concerns about whether players would enjoy spending an entire game with one protagonist, especially after GTA 5 had made switching between three characters such a major part of the experience. Those concerns ultimately proved unnecessary, as Arthur became one of Rockstar’s most memorable protagonists. Red Dead Redemption 2 gave Rockstar the chance to spend much more time exploring one character and showing how the world and its events could change him, and it’s that experience the team wanted to bring to GTA 6.
Why GTA 6 Features a Duo Instead of a Trio
As explained in a recent interview with Trois Couleurs, Rockstar wanted to bring some of the depth and world interaction from Red Dead Redemption 2 into Grand Theft Auto, while also creating the kind of emotional connection that players had with Arthur. At the same time, Rockstar still wanted to keep the idea of multiple protagonists around, which led to the decision to build GTA 6 around a duo instead of another trio. Rather than simply returning to the GTA 5 story formula, Rockstar started looking at what a partnership between two characters could add to GTA 6‘s story. As Rockstar studio head Rob Nelson explained,
“We wanted to take the depth that we were able to add into the world of Red Dead Redemption 2 and the ability to interact with the world in a much more significant way but then also this sort of emotional connection that people end up having with Arthur…We thought about different options but ultimately wanted to try a duo, a partnership of some kind. If they’re in relationship, or have the potential to be in relationship, what does that feel like? So it’s a couple, it’s Bonnie and Clyde. And then as soon as we thought about it, it was obvious. It became the very clear choice for us and felt like something we had to try.”
GameRant Quiz
Easy (15s)Medium (10s)Hard (5s)
The “Bonnie and Clyde” angle, which is how GTA 6 was first reported, eventually became Jason and Lucia. GTA 6’s two protagonists are criminals who are closely connected, with Rockstar describing the pair as a couple and comparing their dynamic to Bonnie and Clyde. Whether Jason and Lucia become romantic or not is entirely up to the character, as they can be platonic partners-in-crime, but even the way they commit crimes is up to the player a la GTA 6‘s Criminal Profile system. GTA 6 can therefore keep the multiple-protagonist concept from GTA 5 while allowing Rockstar to dig much deeper into the relationship between its two central characters.
Arthur’s story worked because the game had so much time to explore who he was, how his relationships affected him, and how the events around him changed his outlook. GTA 6 is obviously telling a very different kind of story, but Jason and Lucia give Rockstar a similar opportunity to focus heavily on its protagonists while still having two perspectives. The pair’s relationship can develop alongside the criminal situations they find themselves in (and the open world gives GTA 6 plenty of room to explore that).
Find the odd one out before the timer hits zero.
GTA 6 is not simply bringing back multiple protagonists because that worked in GTA 5. Rockstar has already seen what can happen when it spends an entire game building a deep connection with one character in Red Dead Redemption 2, and GTA 6 appears to be combining those lessons with the multiple-character structure of its previous Grand Theft Auto games. Jason and Lucia are a different kind of protagonist duo for the series, and their relationship could end up being one of the biggest factors separating GTA 6‘s story from what came before.
- Released
-
November 19, 2026
- ESRB
-
Rating Pending – Likely Mature 17+
