GTA: 3 countries where the game was banned

The GTA franchise is an immensely popular video game series. In fact, Rockstar Games has sold over 110 million copies of GTA V worldwide. You’d think that with such an immense fan-following, GTA would have had a smooth journey.

However, in 2019, over 50 countries banned the GTA V Diamond Casino Update, due to its problematic nature of allowing people to engage in real-life gambling games.

We take a peek into the ugly side of GTA history and see why these 3 countries banned one or more of its versions.

GTA has been repeatedly criticised for its offensive depiction of women

Australia banned GTA

Australia has banned or censored multiples iterations of the franchise in the past, including GTA San Andreas, GTA III and even GTA V for depicting sexual violence in the game. Several consumers agreed with the ban, claiming that GTA’s encouragement of abuse and murder of prostitutes in the gameplay set an offensive example.

Moreover, the public expressed concern about the real-life implications of such a portrayal of women in the game. However, these bans were later overturned and the content was made available to the Australian public.

GTA Episodes from Liberty City

Brazil banned GTA IV: Episodes from Liberty City

In 2010, Brazil courts had implemented a ban on the sale of GTA IV: Episodes from Liberty City. This was done because the game uses a song sung and composed by a Brazilian father-son duo as part of its soundtrack.

However, since the creators of GTA had not sought proper permission from the composer to use the song, this ban was imposed. Eventually, Rockstar Games stepped up and the issue was resolved. The sale of the video game resumed in 2012.

GTA San Andreas

Germany banned several GTA games

Germany has had a track record of banning several video games that depict graphic violence. Such was the case with several GTA installments - Liberty City Stories, San Andreas, Vice City and Vice City Stories.

German government believed that the repetitive violence in the gameplay of such video games lowered the inhibition levels for real violence. However, players of the game insisted that the video game only depicted the kind of violence already made available to the public through movies and books. In 2012, censored versions of the games were made available to the public, giving Rockstar Games a sigh of relief.