GTA The Trilogy Definitive Edition has removed the Confederate flag from Phil Cassidy’s shirt

The recent trailer for the GTA remastered trilogy revealed a significant change in a popular character. The Confederate flag has been removed from Phil Cassidy's shirt in GTA Vice City Definitive Edition.

GTA fans have often wondered how Rockstar Games would respond to the current climate of political correctness. Their games are renowned for their dark humor and sharp satire, and have frequently sparked controversy due to "offensive content" and the like. However, it appears that they have finally caved in to the pressure and made some changes to the new trilogy.

---

Rockstar removes Confederate flag from Phil Cassidy's shirt in GTA Vice City Definitive Edition

Although it is barely noticeable, players can spot the change at the 0:34 mark in the video. Tommy and Phil dive for cover from the boomshine explosion in the famous cutscene from the Gun Runner mission. For a split second, players will notice that Phil's t-shirt, which originally had a Confederate flag on it, has been altered.

Players will now find a cartoonish skull in place of the flag. This indicates that the Confederate flag was purposefully censored in the remastered game. Phil Cassidy is a satirical take on a crazed arms dealer in the 3D Universe GTA games. In Vice City, he appears as a redneck who is almost always drunk and sells a highly explosive moonshine variant.

Because of its association with slavery, the Confederate flag has long been a source of contention in the United States. It has, however, often been kept in most entertainment mediums like movies and video games simply to preserve historical relevance. The move to censor it has been viewed as ironic by GTA fans, especially since it came from Rockstar Games.

This isn't the first time that Rockstar has removed the flag from one of their games. The Confederate flag was replaced with an American flag in The Lost trailer park in GTA 5. However, it was still visible in other parts of the game, such as the cannabis farm on Mt. Chiliad.

Twitch banned the Confederate flag from displaying anywhere on its broadcasting platform just a year ago. This decision by Rockstar might have been made with streamers in mind, who could possibly get in trouble if they stream the game with the flag intact.

Whatever the case may be, the majority of fans are dissatisfied with the decision. Rockstar has always been known to make bold statements and refuse to back down from satire. They've poked fun at almost everything and everyone through their games, no matter how divisive the topic may be.

Take Two's recent retaliation against GTA modders had enraged fans, many of whom now believe that Rockstar has devolved into the very thing they've always mocked.