Fans may have just gotten another reason to dislikeGrand Theft Auto 5: Expanded and Enhanced. Content from the originalGrand Theft Auto 5is seemingly missing from the latest trailer, sparking worries that Rockstar may be censoring the upcoming remaster.
Ever since its showing at PlayStation Showcase 2021,GTA 5: Expanded and Enhancedhas been getting dislikedonline. The trailer, which shows a montage of highlights from the game andGTA Online, failed to win over fans, leaving many dissatisfied and angry. Recurring comments surrounding the trailer include attacks on the game’s graphics, looking indistinguishable from the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game, and the gameplay, as the trailer looks like more of the same oldGTAformula. Add into the mix fans' desire for a wholly new game in a supposedGrand Theft Auto 6, after already spending eight years withGTA 5, and this remaster does not seem to have a lot going for it.
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Eagle eyed Reddit user Darth_Daver123 posted screenshots comparing a scene in bothExpanded and Enhancedand the original game on PC. In the side-by-side comparison, an explicit poster of a scantily clad woman that is behind Michael in the original game is totally missing from the remaster. Although the images themselves are not identical, with Michael and Franklin having slightly different poses, these images are certainly from the same scene. There is a lot ofcut content fromGTA 5which would have been great to see the remaster to include, but this is a step in the opposite direction.
Fans in the comments began sounding off on potential explanations for the missing poster. In the best case scenario, the cut poster is Rockstar trying to avoid the content warnings found on YouTube, which don’t allow sexual content to be uploaded. The other scenario, which has fans worried, is that this is an actual edit from the game, with Rockstar starting to censor content fromGTA 5. Considering thatGTAis known for its explicit content, going so far that aUS lawmaker tried banningGTA 5’s sale, the latter scenario would be pretty ironic of Rockstar, and would mean much more censoring to come.
Rockstar has always been pushing the bar with its games, with the majority of its titles being mature experiences. In the past, otherRockstar games have notably been censoredincludingGrand Theft Auto: San AndreasandBully. While in the US video game ratings have become more diversified, there are other areas of the world that weigh video game content differently, and in some cases, have outright banned games entirely. ThisGTA 5remaster has already received a lot of scrutiny, so hopefully this incident is no more than a one-time occurence.
Grand Theft Auto 5: Enhanced and Expandedlaunches in March 2022 for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
