GTA Trilogy Seemingly Removes The Confederate Flag From Vice City

When it releases this November, it seems like Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition will be ditching the Confederacy's flag.

The change, first spotted by Kotaku, can be found during the collection's trailer. One scene shows Grand Theft Auto: Vice City's Tommy jumping away from an explosion, with Phil Cassidy right next to him. However, Phil's shirt, which sported a Confederate flag in the game's original release, now has a simple skull in its place.

We have reached out to Rockstar for comment and will update this article if we receive a response.

Ultimately, Rockstar's removal of the Confederate flag from its games isn't much of a surprise. The flag, a symbol of the short-lived nation founded in the southern United States that fought in the Civil War to continue practicing slavery, has found a resurgence over the past decade. The flag was notably flown by insurrectionists during the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Rockstar is among a growing number of companies explicitly distancing itself from the flag, which the Anti-Defamation League lists as a hate symbol. In 2015, Apple began removing games from its App Store for displaying the Confederate flag and in 2020, the flag was similarly banned from Forza games by Microsoft. It's not clear if other content changes regarding sensitive issues in the GTA Trilogy are also being made.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition is set to release on November 11 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch. The collection will include updated versions of GTA 3, GTA: San Andreas, and GTA: Vice City.