GTA 6 and past GTA controversies: Vice City, lawsuits, Hot Coffee

Three controversies left a mark on the Grand Theft Auto series before GTA 6: Vice City’s lines about Haitians, cut in December 2003; two $600 million lawsuits brought by attorney Jack Thompson and thrown out in 2008 and 2009; and the Adults Only rerating of San Andreas on July 20, 2005. GTA 6 launches November 19, 2026, rated Mature 17+ by the ESRB since October 6.

Date	Controversy	What it changed	Source
November 2003	Vice City, rally at New York City Hall	lines removed from later copies	Gamasutra, NBC News
February 2005	Alabama lawsuit, over $600M	summary judgment for Take-Two on July 29, 2009, upheld September 24, 2010	Take-Two
July 20, 2005	Hot Coffee, San Andreas rerated Adults Only	production halted, $24.5M in return costs	Take-Two, FTC
September 2006	New Mexico lawsuit over Vice City, $600M	dismissed January 11, 2008, appeal closed May 19, 2008	Take-Two
April 20, 2007	Take-Two settles with Jack Thompson	no more suits to block sales of a Take-Two game	Shacknews

The leaks have their own pages: the Rockstar breach by Arion Kurtaj, who posted 90 development videos on September 18, 2022, and the videos from the CyberLeek account in August 2026.

Vice City, 2003: the dialogue that went

On November 26, 2003, Gamasutra reported that the Haitian Centers Council and Haitian Americans for Human Rights had condemned Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and that activists had gathered at New York City Hall to get it banned. The target was a mission objective, “Kill all the Haitians,” which Gamasutra noted referred to one specific gang of dealers.

Take-Two gave way in December 2003, more than a year after the game reached PlayStation 2. Its statement, as quoted by NBC News on December 12:

We are aware of the hurt and anger in the Haitian community and have listened to the community’s objections to certain statements made in the game. Accordingly, we will remove the objectionable statements from future copies.

Jack Thompson’s two lawsuits

In February 2005, the estates of three police officers killed in Alabama sued Take-Two, Sony, Wal-Mart and GameStop in Fayette County circuit court. They claimed Grand Theft Auto III and its sequels caused “copycat violence” and sought more than $600 million. On November 21, 2005, Gamasutra reported, the judge revoked the temporary right of Jack Thompson, a Florida lawyer, to practice in Alabama, writing that his “actions before this court suggest that he is unable to conduct himself in a manner befitting practice in this state.”

Wikipedia dates the end of the suit to November 2005. What ended that month was Thompson’s part in it. According to Take-Two’s SEC filings, the court granted Take-Two summary judgment on July 29, 2009, and the Alabama Supreme Court affirmed on September 24, 2010.

In September 2006, Thompson filed a second suit, in New Mexico, naming Vice City and seeking $600 million according to the Associated Press. Take-Two argued lack of personal jurisdiction and failure to state a claim. The judge granted both motions on December 18, 2007, the dismissal order followed on January 11, 2008, and the state Court of Appeals closed the case on May 19, 2008 because no timely appeal had been filed.

In between, on April 20, 2007, Shacknews reported the settlement between Take-Two and Thompson: he would no longer pursue legal action to restrict sales of Take-Two games, and “retains the right to publicly criticize the content or distribution of any Take-Two product.”

Hot Coffee, 2005

On July 20, 2005, the ESRB moved San Andreas from Mature 17+ to Adults Only 18+ over a sex minigame left in its code, and Take-Two stopped manufacturing it. The FTC put Take-Two’s costs from returns at $24.5 million. The full timeline is in our Hot Coffee entry.

How GTA 6 is rated

The ESRB’s Grand Theft Auto VI rating, published October 6, 2026, carries seven descriptors, Strong Sexual Content and Nudity among them. San Andreas lost its rating over content it had left undeclared; GTA 6 declares its own before launch. The descriptors match GTA V’s, as detailed in our rating breakdown, and our parents’ guide covers what they mean in practice.