As Grand Theft Auto VI's marketing machine ramps up ahead of its release, a Guardian games columnist argues that mainstream media coverage of the title risks falling into a tired, condescending pattern rather than engaging seriously with the game or the wider industry. The piece warns that presenters will likely joke about not having played a game since Pac-Man, revive stale debates about violence in games, and treat the medium as a novelty needing justification, in contrast to the in-depth cultural analysis afforded to film. This matters because such coverage crowds out attention for other notable games and reinforces the perception that video games remain a niche curiosity rather than an established cultural force.

The article notes that GTA VI's Netflix preview drew huge numbers, topping viewing charts and briefly crashing the platform, with over 9,000 Twitch streamers generating more than 5.2 million hours of viewing. The writer contrasts this hype with other critically significant titles released since GTA V, including Elden Ring, Breath of the Wild, No Man's Sky, The Last of Us: Part 2, Silent Hill, Disco Elysium, Split Fiction and Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, arguing these deserved similar mainstream attention. The piece concludes that broadcasters, including the BBC, should move beyond treating every games story as an opportunity to explain and justify the industry, and instead recognise gaming as an established mass cultural phenomenon.