Jason and Lucia’s American Dream is a modest one: a house of their own and their debts paid off, not a billionaire’s life. That is how Rupert Humphries, Rockstar’s senior vice president of narrative, framed it for the fashion and culture magazine LOVE. Its issue 27 went on sale on October 5 with the GTA 6 couple on one of six covers, in artwork made by Rockstar.
What the writers said
Humphries also explained why the game exaggerates the world it copies: “If you are going to put all this effort into creating a version of today’s world, it has to be more over the top, more insane, more in your face. Otherwise, you could just go outside and live in the real world.”
Game writer Elizabeth Gauvey-Kern described the leads: “We wanted both protagonists to be vulnerable, tough, flawed, right sometimes, wrong sometimes, able to learn from each other.” Her colleague Alexa D’Agostino said that writing a person with their own wants gives you someone “perfectly imperfect” and “undeniably real” (IGN).
LOVE’s preview sets them up as opposites. Lucia is determined to build a better life and won’t let anything stop her, while Jason’s circumstances keep making decisions for him (Vice).
Four new screenshots
Rockstar released four images through the magazine on October 2. One is a black-and-white shot of the pair in casual clothes, Jason in a white vest and Lucia in a leopard-print crop top. Two show them facing each other in a diner booth with a large bag beside them. The last is a night out: Jason in biker leathers, the two of them at a pool table in what looks like a biker bar.
Who is in the issue
The interview is by Kacion Mayers. According to the listing at KD Presse, which distributes the issue, the team talks about a decade of world building, the research trips that shaped Leonida and what the American Dream looks like now, and says that in a world this dense nobody you meet will be an extra. Rob Nelson, co-studio head of Rockstar North, is among those interviewed (KeenGamer).
The other five covers feature UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, models Alex Consani and Anok Yai, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Ghali and Young Miko. The issue costs €25. Beebom and other outlets reported that pre-orders of the GTA cover sold out within minutes; the KD Presse listing still takes orders, with delivery from October 5.
