Grand Theft Auto V (2022)

Game review by Chad Sapieha, Common Sense Media
GTA V box art

Common Sense says

age 18+

Crime, violence, sex, drugs, and alcohol = not for kids.

Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Windows 2022
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Parents say

age 13+

Based on 862 reviews

Kids say

age 13+

Based on 1370 reviews

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Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this game.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Grand Theft Auto V is an adult action game for Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows platforms. It brims with gang violence, nudity, extremely coarse language, and drug and alcohol abuse. Playing as hardened criminals, players kill not only fellow gangsters but also police officers and innocent civilians using both weapons and vehicles while conducting premeditated crimes, including a particularly disturbing scene involving torture. Women are frequently depicted as sexual objects, with a strip club mini-game allowing players to fondle dancers' bodies, which are nude from the waist up. Players also have the opportunity to make characters use marijuana and drink alcohol, both of which impact their perception of the world. All of the main characters are criminals who think of themselves first and others rarely at all. Online modes allow players to create their own avatar and embark on a criminal career that includes armed robberies, corruption, and murder. There's some diversity within the cast, including people of varying skin colors, backgrounds, and sexual orientation, but virtually no characters here could be considered appropriate role models. Few games are more clearly targeted to an adult audience.

Community Reviews

andywilliams78
andywilliams78 Adult
July 8, 2022
age 11+

Bad Reputation But Better Than Many Think

The thing that normally turns most parents away from letting their child get GTA is it’s bad reputation among other parents. I would personally say that the story mode is not appropriate for under 15’s because of how much crime and inappropriate things are in the mode which under 15’s probably won’t be able to handle because they are not mature enough yet. But the online mode is actually okay, and my son (12) likes it because of the aspect of buying cool houses and cars and having free roam in a city where you can choose your lifestyle depending on how much in-game currency you have. The game is absolutely one of the best around, and it’s so amazing how Rockstar put it together. It’s full of things to keep your kid occupied as well.
15 people found this helpful.
RichSmith77
RichSmith77 Adult
March 26, 2022
age 13+
This game seems pretty bad for children, but if you teach them that the stuff in the game is bad there is a high probability that they won’t do it in the real world, and if you sometimes play the game with your kid you can feel how they will act and you can learn what your kid is playing.

This title has:

Easy to play/use
Too much violence
Too much swearing
15 people found this helpful.
See all 862 parent reviews

What’s It About?

Originally launched in 2013, Rockstar Games' decidedly adult-oriented GRAND THEFT AUTO V has been remastered for newer consoles, including PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The story mode puts players in the shoes of a trio of criminals in Los Santos, a fictionalized version of Los Angeles. One protagonist is middle-aged and begins the game as a recently retired criminal; another is unpredictable, cruel, and dependent on drugs; and the third is a young man just beginning his life of crime. Players have the ability to switch freely among these men as they work through a dramatic criminal saga set in an open world that sees them carrying out heists, stealing cars, taking revenge on rivals, and killing anyone who gets in their way, including police officers and innocent civilians. The popular multiplayer mode GTA Online, meanwhile, allows players to create a unique avatar before setting out on a freeform criminal career with activities ranging from bank robberies and car theft to assassinations and shooting down airplanes, in addition to more traditional adversarial multiplayer modes such as deathmatch and capture the flag. The 2022 remastered edition sports enhanced graphics -- including support for HDR, ray tracing, 4K resolution, and 60 frames-per-second refresh speeds -- as well as a Career Builder mode for GTA Online that lets first-time players begin with millions of dollars to help them buy properties and gear so that they can catch up to longtime GTA players who have the ability to transfer over their characters from older platforms.

Is It Any Good?

This isn't a game for kids. Beyond its glamorized depiction of crime, greed, and violence, Grand Theft Auto V is filled with mature satire both obvious and nuanced -- some of which hasn't aged very well -- that younger audiences are bound to take at face value. That said, it's also an expertly designed game that remains surprisingly playable and engaging. It gives players a vibrant and authentic world bursting with activities and things to discover, tight controls that seamlessly transition between various actions, and a cleverly designed story that puts the player in the shoes of three separate characters, pushing each narrative forward at its own pace. Newly added features in remastered versions of the game -- ranging from vastly improved loading times and enhanced audio to subtle new haptic feedback and contextual trigger sensitivity when using the PlayStation 5 controller -- have helped this game remain relevant and widely played much longer than most.

GTA Online is bound to be where most folks spend the bulk of their time, though. Newer editions allow players to skip the opening part of the story mode altogether -- which was required in earlier editions in order to teach people how to play -- and jump straight into Rockstar's multiplayer universe, where almost nothing's scripted and pretty much anything goes. What's more, the new Career Builder gives players $4 million up front and lets them set themselves up as a gun runner, the operator of a shady nightclub, a corrupt CEO, or a bike gang leader. GTA Online provides endless opportunity for players to indulge dark criminal fantasies while testing their mettle against other players. Just keep in mind, though, that just about everything here -- online and off -- is geared for adult audiences. And even then it won't be to all tastes. Grand Theft Auto V is well made and entertaining, but unequivocally inappropriate for kids.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the impact of violence in media. Do you think violent games like Grand Theft Auto V have a different or more significant impact on behavior than violent movies, books, or music?

  • Villains make for popular protagonists across all media but might be viewed differently in games, since players actually perform their dirty deeds rather than simply observe them. So can an anti-hero ever be a good role model?

  • Does it do more harm than good to create a cast of diverse characters but then present the majority of them as common stereotypes, dimwitted, or malicious?

Game Details

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