Grand Theft Auto 6is coming soon, and there’s one marketing campaign Rockstar Studios needs to bring back for its release. To build hype around the release ofGrand Theft Auto 5all the way back in 2013, Rockstar Games did something a little different forGTAfans. Rather than starting a giveaway for a free copy of the game or another standard community event,Rockstar gave five fans from around the world the chance to be added into the gameas a fully-fledged modeled character.
As the runway toGrand Theft Auto 6’s release date gets shorter every day,it would be a missed opportunity if Rockstar doesn’t hold another casting callto add fans to its newest title. Allowing a handful of players to appear in what will definitely be a cultural juggernaut would be relatively easy and extremely fun, especially with the sheer size of the game allowing the studio to add people to any weird side quests they could think of.
In 2013, GTA 5 Hosted A Competition To Appear In-Game
Five Lucky Fans Joined A Cult
In the lead up toGrand Theft Auto 5’s release in late 2013, Rockstar held a special contest for fans from April to May for a chance to be added to the game. Participants only needed to fill out a form with a picture of themselves fora chance to be modeled and added to the game, joining one of the strangest groups living in Los Santos. Five people were chosen from around the world: Ameer, Haylee, and Jesse from the United States, alongside Tiana from Australia and Joscha from Germany.
These five weremodeled into characters and became members of the Epsilon Program, a religious cultthat can be seen all over Los Santos. Michael, one of the three protagonists ofGTA 5,canjoin the Epsilon Programthrough a series of quests, though the only reward is learning more tenets of the Program. Shortly beforeGTA 5came out, Rockstar Games created a website called Cultstoppers, which showed the five fans as missing persons believed to have been kidnapped by the Epsilon Program.
GTA 6 Has Plenty Of Scope For Characters Based On Fans
Vice City Has Room For A Few More NPCs
Grand Theft Auto 6, which iscurrently set to come out next spring,is going to be an incredibly large game. Based on the two trailers that have come out so far, the number of unique NPCs and characters living in Vice City will make it feel like a real, living city. While we only know basic elements of the game’s plot, it’s safe to assume that some of the reality-based satire andoff-the-rails missionsthat have made the rest of the series so iconic will be featured.
The huge NPC population and the inclusion of non-serious quests would make it very easy for Rockstar to add a handful of charactersbased on real-life fans. Rockstar might not want to add any fans as NPCs that feature in serious or important quests, but bringing back the Epsilon Program or inventing another weird group would be the perfect way to place more fans into the series.
Rockstar Should Turn This Into A GTA Tradition
Celebrating Fans Is An Easy Win For The Studio
It’s been over ten years sinceGrand Theft Auto 5came out, and while the casting call wasn’t a part of any earlier games,it should return forGTA 6and become a series tradition.GTA 6doesn’t need to build any hype, since years of anticipation have done more than enough to excite fans for any small update on the game. However, an easy way to advertiseGTA 6and keep its momentum going through the second half of 2025 would be to hold another fan casting call.
Landing a role inGrand Theft Auto 6, a game that’s inevitably set to have a massive cultural impact, will probably appeal to almost anyone remotely interested in video games. In 2013, the inclusion of fans was a nice way to celebrate the community, and now, in 2025, it could be another chance for a few fans to be a part of a historic game.
