New Versions of Grand Theft Auto 5 Remove Transphobic Content

gamerant.com:

The lifespan of Grand Theft Auto 5 has now stretched out through three console generations. In that time, the game has largely stayed the same, outside of any additions to Grand Theft Auto Online, which has attributed to its prolonged lifespan. In that time, society has evolved outside of the game. Some jokes or gags have become insensitive and developers become more aware of deliberately or unconsciously creating offensive content in games. 10 years after the development cycle of Grand Theft Auto 5, some of the game's background dressing and NPCs have been updated and altered to address some jokes that haven't aged well.

In the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S update of GTA 5, transphobic jokes and content seem to have been removed. This was noticed by members of the GTA community and compiled into a thread on Twitter by Kristy Cloud, an admin on the GTA Forums.

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The drag queens or crossdressers no longer spawn outside of Cockatoos, a bar that the player can't go into but can interact with patrons standing outside. Voice lines with transphobic dialogue in reference to taking hormones and comments referencing gender confirmation have also been removed along with a reference to a toy that had «interchangeable genitalia.» The thread also claims that the UK-based group of game developers OutMakingGames did correspond with Rockstar Games about some transphobic content in Grand Theft Auto 5. They recently confirmed that they were in touch with Rockstar Games and are pleased with the developer's response.

Even as Rockstar Games has a reputation for putting elaborate parodies of real-world incidents and topics, there is going to be a line. The line has moved from where it was in 2013