A Russian religious organisation has called for Grand Theft Auto 6 to be banned over the rumoured inclusion of male strippers.
READ MORE: The best games to play while you wait for ‘Grand Theft Auto 6’
The World Russian People’s Council is led by Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, and features government officials alongside leaders of public associations, clergy members of Russia’s major religions, science and culture figures as well as delegates from “Russian communities” around the world. Since it was founded in 1993, the World Russian People’s Council meets to discuss concerns about the present and future of the country.
In a new interview, deputy chairman Mikhail Ivanov has called for Grand Theft Auto 6 to be banned in Russia.
“The creators of Grand Theft Auto 6 are deliberately including destructive and vulgar content in their product, which is completely unacceptable to the moral health of society. This includes the planned inclusion of scenes of male strippers in the game, which is a direct and cynical violation of basic moral norms and traditional spiritual values. Allowing such content is tantamount to corrupting the younger generation,” he explained (via Google translate).
“Grand Theft Auto‘s popularity makes it a particularly dangerous tool of influence. We must demonstrate civic responsibility and prevent our children from being sold the poison of corruption and permissiveness under the guise of entertainment,” he added. “We need to either impose strict legal restrictions on the distribution of such games in Russia or require publishers to release special versions for our market, cleared of immoral content.”
Grand Theft Auto 5 was banned from certain retailers in Australia following complaints about the depiction of violence towards women in the game (via the BBC). However it’s not known how Ivanov knows Grand Theft Auto 6 will feature male strippers, with publishers Take Two only revealing a few details about the upcoming game.
Yesterday (January 19), the offices of Grand Theft Auto 6 developers Rockstar North were shut down following an explosion caused by a faulty boiler. No one was injured and the offices reopened a few hours later.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is due to launch November 19 after being delayed from May. Elon Musk and Fortnite boss Tim Sweeney have both claimed that generative AI will be able to create a version of GTA 6 before Rockstar.
In other news, Final Fantasy creators Square Enix are celebrating the 30th anniversary of Chrono Trigger with a bumper vinyl boxset.
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