**Why I’ll Never Play GTA 6**
*A Personal Grand Theft Auto Documentary*
**Chapter 1: Where It All Began**
October 29th, 2002. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was released.
A little over a year later, on February 10th, 2004, I was born.
Now, of course, I didn’t play it on release, so I guess that makes me a poser.
But when I was five years old, I played Vice City for the first time on a computer, and I was hooked.
I didn’t play much of anything else besides Happy Wheels and Vice City.
I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into at such a young age. But whether it was killing prostitutes, chasing someone around with a chainsaw, or flying a tiny helicopter into a construction site and crying every single time because I couldn’t beat that bullshit mission, I was hooked.
I played it every chance I got.
And then, it happened.
I got my first console on Christmas Eve.
The Xbox 360.
And that completely changed my gaming life.
**Chapter 2: Liberty City**
With my Xbox 360 came GTA IV.
The first Grand Theft Auto game I truly got invested in.
From the story of Niko Bellic, a man chasing revenge while supposedly pursuing the American Dream in Liberty City, to Liberty City Stories, which I played just as much, I was in love.
Some of the memories I still hold onto today are the most ridiculous ones.
I remember how funny I found the fat people riding around on motorcycles, going bowling with Roman, and having to drive that fucking bike in one of the first missions.
Not only did I develop an unhealthy obsession with GTA IV and its stories of crime, revenge, loyalty, and betrayal, but I also became obsessed with the content that came out of it.
One notable YouTuber was The Gaming Lemon and his modded GTA IV videos.
Some of my favorites were his Carmageddon videos, which I still revisit every few years just to experience those memories and that feeling I had when I first watched them.
But even with all of that, something else happened that completely changed how I experienced the game.
**Xbox Live.**
It was mind-boggling to me.
I had absolutely no idea that I could play my favorite game online with other people.
GTA IV had a multiplayer mode that I’d never experienced before.
Now, there wasn’t a whole lot to do, but there was one thing you could always count on.
PvP.
And that’s pretty much all I did.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any recordings of myself getting absolutely slapped around by borderline professionals using pistols or getting pilot-sniped out of an Annihilator helicopter.
But I can assure you, I cried.
A lot.
And yet, I kept coming back.
There was something so unique about that experience that I can’t fully explain anymore. It’s been so long.
But if you asked my parents, they’d probably tell you that my hands were practically glued to a controller that was too big for them.
GTA IV was one of those games I played every single day for years.
That, Minecraft, and Section 8.
If you know, you know.
But then everything changed.
**Forever.**
**Chapter 3: September 17th, 2013**
September 17th, 2013.
Grand Theft Auto V was released.
And my dad took me to the game store.
Because back then, you could actually experience walking into a game store as a nine-year-old and having an adult buy you an M-rated game marketed toward adults.
Along with the game, I got this thick collector’s guide that showed you the location of practically every secret item, every collectible, and just about every piece of information you could possibly need.
Information that, of course, I never retained.
Inside the game case was a map of Los Santos, which I taped to the wall right beside the TV I played on.
And just like that, it happened again.
I was obsessed.
The lovable characters, the absolutely absurd lines from pedestrians, and three different storylines intertwining to create yet another masterpiece.
I swear, I stayed up all night playing GTA V.
*Cough.*
Until 8 p.m.
Every single night, I played through the story, exploring Los Santos and everything it had to offer.
Then, two weeks later, Rockstar released GTA Online.
And that’s…
That’s where it really, really started for me.
**Chapter 4: GTA Online**
I played GTA Online every single day.
Well, until I had to get off at 8 p.m.
And to be honest, this is probably where my anger issues came from.
Because I swear to you, I got so mad that I traded in and rebought GTA V over fifteen times.
I’m not even joking.
Getting killed over and over again, fighting for a special crate drop, only to finally get my hands on it and receive a fucking beer cap.
That drove me into a greater depression than anything I’d experienced in my early adult years.
I think a lot of it came down to my complete lack of understanding of the game.
During my time on Xbox, I made more memories than I could possibly count.
Unfortunately, I don’t have recordings of most of them, but they’re carved into my memory, and I’ll never forget them.
One person I met on Xbox was named Hugo, followed by a couple of X’s or some numbers.
He had a JTAG Xbox.
And I remember robbing a convenience store with him when, out of nowhere, he leveled up something like 200 times.
It was absolutely insane to me.
Then he shared the cash with me.
And within about two seconds, I had billions of dollars in my account.
I had absolutely no idea how I was supposed to launder all that money.
But I knew exactly what I was going to buy.
The Adder.
And the Z-Type.
I drove around flexing those cars like I’d built my wealth brick by brick.
Two days later, Rockstar wiped my money.
And I fell into another depressive episode.
Honestly, I probably traded the game in again.
But eventually, in Grade 7, I got my PS4.
And, of course, I bought GTA V.
**Again.**
A fresh console, a fresh character, and a completely new beginning.
But this time, things were different.
I was growing up, and so were the people I played with.
I started making new friends, including a group of British guys I played with almost every single day.
And what did we do?
The same shit we always did.
We’d find a glitch spot, sit inside it, and spend hours killing players and cops.
We also ran a ridiculous number of missions together, making an absolutely pitiful amount of money.
I’m telling you right now, the next time Madam Nazar mentions Rooftop Rumble, I’m reaching through that glass and strangling her.
But the PS4 introduced me to something I never really had access to on Xbox.
**Video creation.**
**Chapter 5: Becoming a Creator**
Video creation was something I’d wanted to get into for years.
I grew up watching creators like Kwebbelkop, Jelly, XpertThief, and the Vanoss crew, just to name a few.
I wanted to do what they did.
And now, with the PS4, I finally could.
I made montages, drift videos, PvP clips, and just about anything my eleven- or twelve-year-old brain found funny.
I’d record it, edit it, and upload it.
It didn’t matter if anyone watched.
I was having fun.
But the PS4 also had something else.
Something that, unfortunately, no longer exists.
**Communities.**
Rest in peace.
And with communities came car shows.
I attended so many car meets in GTA Online that I genuinely couldn’t tell you how many there were.
And that brings me to my next point.
**Chapter 6: The Culture of Grand Theft Auto**
**Culture.**
Whether you’re a BST-spamming tryhard, a car guy like me who owns practically every car in the game but drives the same five, a hardcore grinder, a collector, or all of the above, you, the viewer, probably fall into at least one of these communities.
And some of you fall into all of them.
I’ve spent a lot of my time in a few of these categories myself.
I used to grind my ass off, making pennies.
Then, one weekend, during a full bunker sale with double money, I got blown up.
And I decided to take my frustration out on everyone else.
I became the exact thing I hated.
That phase didn’t last very long, but the PvP side of things definitely stuck with me.
As much as I love cars, car shows, and the entire car community, fighting people in Freemode or RNG has always been what I’ve enjoyed the most.
And I think that’s because of how unpredictable it can be.
At its core, GTA is a sandbox filled with dozens of weaponized vehicles.
Sure, there’s a meta.
You’ve got the Oppressor Mk II, the Raiju, and whatever else people are using these days.
But unlike a traditional competitive game, there’s no single definitive way you have to play.
You can use whatever you want.
Fight however you want.
And approach situations however you want.
That’s what makes it so interesting to me.
But despite how much I enjoy PvP, I still find myself taking a car out every now and then.
Just driving.
Exploring.
Revisiting places I’ve already seen hundreds of times throughout the 5,000 hours I’ve spent on PlayStation alone.
And somehow, I still enjoy it.
**Chapter 7: Crews, Rivalries, and Freemode Wars**
Another thing about PvP that fascinates me is the crews and the rivalries between them.
Crews like DEVX, REVX, KEKX, and plenty of others.
There’s history within these groups that probably goes deeper than most people realize.
Rivalries, friendships, reputations, and years of encounters that most players will never know about.
Recently, I found myself involved in an all-out Freemode war.
And I’m talking everything.
APCs.
Khanjalis.
RC tanks.
Sparrows.
It was probably the most intense battle I’d experienced in years.
And the funny thing is, right before all of this happened, I’d already spent a considerable amount of time fighting one of the best players I’ve ever encountered.
So, at that point, I was pretty drained.
But this whole war started with one person.
Some guy randomly sniped me.
Naturally, I started fighting back.
Then another person showed up.
Then another.
And before I knew it, I was getting run over by an Imani Tech Champion while tanks and helicopters were fighting all around me.
Was it stressful?
Absolutely.
But did it make me fall in love with the game all over again?
It sure as hell did.
And that’s something I think GTA V captures better than almost any other game I’ve played.
**Culture.**
Not just communities, but communities with genuine cult followings.
Those of us who PvP understand that when you see someone from an enemy crew, you already know what’s about to happen.
It’s on sight.
I’ve fought plenty of KEKX members over the years.
Back when I used TikTok, I even made videos about some of our encounters.
And while that might sound ridiculous to someone who’s never been involved in the PvP community, to those of us who have, it’s part of what makes GTA what it is.
Rockstar built the sandbox.
But the players built the culture.
**Chapter 8: The City I Grew Up In**
With all of that being said, I’ve spent years of my life in Los Santos.
And I don’t regret a single one of them.
I’ve stolen hundreds of cars.
Killed thousands of players.
And made billions of dollars.
I’ve bought the cars, the houses, the clothes.
I’ve survived modded bounties, fought entire crews, and experienced just about everything this city has thrown at me.
You name it.
I’ve probably done it.
And after all of that, it would feel wrong to simply walk away from the city I’ve been growing up in since I was a child.
Now, I sit in one of my mansions, sipping my Pißwasser, staring at my cars, and reminiscing about every memory I’ve created here.
And that’s why I can’t detach myself from this game.
Because to me, it’s not just a game.
It’s so much more than that.
It was the place I escaped to when things weren’t going well at home.
It was where I could forget about whatever was happening in the real world, even if it was only for a few hours.
It gave me a network of friends, some of whom I still talk to today.
It gave me something to look forward to.
Something to get excited about.
And somewhere along the way, without even realizing it, I grew up alongside this game.
From a nine-year-old kid with a map of Los Santos taped to the wall beside his television, to an adult who’s spent thousands of hours exploring every corner of that same city.
And now, with GTA 6 on the horizon, everyone’s getting ready to leave.
A new city.
New cars.
New experiences.
A whole new world to explore.
And I’m sure it’ll be incredible.
But there’s something about Los Santos that I don’t think any other game will ever be able to replace.
Because while everyone else moves on to the next city, I’ll still be here.
Sitting at the top of Vinewood, in my mansion, sipping my Pißwasser, looking out over the city I’ve spent more than a decade growing up in.
The same city I once explored as a nine-year-old kid who had absolutely no idea what he was getting himself into.
And maybe that’s why I’ll never play GTA 6.
Not because I think it’ll be a bad game.
Not because I don’t want something new.
But because no matter how incredible the next Grand Theft Auto might be…
**It’ll never be the one I grew up with.**