Former Rockstar Dev Says GTA 6's Male Lead Is Like a Terminator in New Trailer

York, who worked at Rockstar New England from 2012 to 2015, said the 26-minute trailer, released last week, has a “heavier tone and a slower pace” than 2013's GTA V. He described Jason Duval as “very slow and methodical,” someone who walks through scenes “mowing people down with no emotion.” Contrasting him with earlier Rockstar protagonists such as Niko Belic, he said Jason is “quite deadpan and monotone” so far. “Rockstar usually gives us a bunch of neat characters who are funny and have their own flair,” York said. “I don't know if we're going to see that with Jason, but I hope we do.”

York told TechRadar he believes the contrasting depiction of Lucia Caminos is intentional. He pointed to an exchange in which Jason says, “Sometimes I'm just more comfortable when I have to use a gun,” and Lucia replies, “Just be charming!” York sees Lucia as trying to “break him out of his shell,” and expects she will go into missions “gung-ho, all guns blazing.” As switchable characters, York said, Lucia could provide the Yin to Jason's Yang.

The Extended Look pairs Depeche Mode's “People Are People” with Jason's scenes and Cliff Richard's “Devil Woman” with Lucia's violent turn inside a gadget store, where she flips off police. Asked about criticism of misogyny that has trailed Rockstar's crime series, York said many of the studio's games have been seen in that light: “It'd be cool for them to shake that up and flip it on its head.” York now works at Highwire Games in Seattle on Six Days in Fallujah.