It's hard to imagine now, but over 20 years ago, a mod called "Hot Coffee" completely shocked the gaming world. This mod activated abandoned code in GTA: San Andreas, allowing CJ to engage in sexual activities with his girlfriend.
In 2005, the game was re-rated "Adults Only" by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), forcing it off retail shelves—where shelf space was crucial at the time—and resulting in a complete ban in Australia. Even the U.S. Federal Trade Commission got involved, complaining that Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive "failed to inform consumers that the game discs contained potentially viewable nude female characters and a playable sex mini-game."
Twenty-two years later, with GTA 6 about to launch on consoles, all this seems quite nostalgic now. According to the latest ratings released by the ESRB, here is what to expect from GTA 6:
Blood and Gore
Intense Violence
Mature Humor
Nudity
Strong Language
Intense Sexual Content
Drug and Alcohol Use
All these factors combined ultimately resulted in an M rating—meaning "generally suitable for ages 17 and up." The European game rating agency PEGI gave it an even stricter rating; in a subsequently deleted rating list, the game was rated 18+, noting "detailed decapitation scenes" and "frequent and obvious" drug use.
How did we get from there to here? Well, we grew up—literally. The Entertainment Software Association stated in 2025 that the average age of American gamers is 36, with 18 years of gaming experience: this includes police officers, politicians, and parents who grew up playing games (including GTA) and consider games no different from explosive episodes of Miami Vice.
Meanwhile, the social collapse predicted by some alarmists has not occurred—at least not caused by games. But what about the surge in violent crimes and killings triggered by "murder simulators" like GTA, Call of Duty, and Halo? That never happened. On the contrary, we have seen that as games have become more popular and the number of players has grown, violent crime rates have actually decreased over the past two decades.
Some might say the popularity of GTA represents societal desensitization—that certain adult content once considered taboo is now gradually breaking down those taboos. But over the years, we have witnessed various moral panics, from the "Satanic Panic" to the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), to the stubborn retention of the long-outdated Comics Code Authority, and the birth of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). I am more inclined to believe that we are actually slowly figuring out what truly matters and acting accordingly.
Changing, it seems, are only the times...
However, Jack Thompson, a famous critic from a bygone era, has not softened his stance. Today, GTA is a mass-market entertainment brand, no more terrifying than a Marvel movie. PC Gamer contacted former lawyer Jack Thompson: twenty years ago, he became infamous among gamers for his unwavering, even exaggerated efforts to push for strict regulation of video games, believing real-world violence was linked to violent video games. Now, twenty years later, I (a PC Gamer reporter) was curious about his thoughts on Florida embracing the GTA marketing machine and our changing world.
GTA is now mainstream, but this activist, who strongly opposed violent video games in the early 2000s, has not softened his stance.
Thompson, who lives in Florida, is clearly very dissatisfied with the various promotional collaborations for GTA 6 underway locally. Thompson said to me, "If you can't see that the government standing up for commercial interests is fascism, then we have nothing to talk about. Ask the county sheriff what she thinks about this evil alliance between corporations and the government."
I did ask the local sheriff. The Sheriff's Office told me they don't care about "promotional decisions made by private businesses or organizations." I then relayed this response to Thompson, who accused me of drinking "fascist Kool-Aid," compared me to Joseph Goebbels, and told me to stop bothering him. He later sent another email, slightly clarifying his position: "The problem is that your work has proven you are not an honest journalist."
To be honest, I feel somewhat regretful about this. I originally thought that after nearly 20 years, Thompson might have changed, or at least be able to calmly look back at how the world has changed. But clearly, that has not happened.
Perhaps this is understandable. After all—I'm not trying to gloat or claim victory, this is just a simple fact—after spending his entire life and career fighting against GTA, it was ultimately GTA that won. Netflix is airing its special programs, the NBA is wearing GTA co-branded jerseys, Walmart is selling it, middle-aged police officers and politicians are buying it, and even the Florida government is capitalizing on the GTA hype. And we are still fine, nothing has happened.
In my opinion, this is a good thing. But for those who once bet Everythinggj on GTA inevitably having an uncontrollable corrosive effect, the lack of chaos and disaster today—at least, violent video games haven't heralded the so-called apocalypse, and Everythinggj is still "fine"—might actually disappoint them somewhat.