GTA 6 Dating: 1 in 4 Adults Say Virtual Romance Is Cheating

Would you dump your partner over a video game romance? With GTA 6 launching in November and putting a full relationship system front and center, that question is about to get very real.

The game stars dual protagonists Jason and Lucia, whose Bonnie and Clyde-style romance is the heart of the story. The latest trailer showed steamy shower scenes, and previews reveal you can kiss at the push of a button, hold hands, and go on beach dates or shopping trips. Rockstar has even said their relationship can blossom or wilt depending on how fast you text back on the in-game phone.

But before you dive into all that digital romance, you might want to check in with your real-life partner. In September, British polling company YouGov asked 4,000 British adults whether dating in a video game counts as cheating. Around 6% said yes, it's cheating. Another 19% said they don't consider it cheating but wouldn't be okay with it. That's a surprisingly big chunk of people who think smashing pixels together is some kind of betrayal.

Women were notably more against it than men. Only 4% of men would call it cheating, compared to 7% of women. Among those who don't consider it cheating but still aren't okay with it, 13% were men and 24% were women.

The BBC covered the poll with a headline asking: can you cheat on someone with a video game character? That framing sparked backlash from players. "No, video game characters are not real, get a grip ffs!" said one X user, Stetson Spatula. Another asked, "Can you get arrested for murdering someone on call of duty?" Many responses pointed to games like The Sims, where players have been roleplaying marriages, kids, and careers for years. The perceived hypocrisy is hard to miss.

This isn't the first time GTA 6's relationship mechanics have raised eyebrows. Back in August, we reported on angry spouses on social media who thought the system was so in-depth it was equivalent to cheating and worth breaking up over. On TikTok, some people said they wouldn't let their partner play the game at all.

Rockstar, for its part, has been clear that you don't have to engage with the relationship stuff if you don't want to. Jason and Lucia start the game wanting a relationship, but it's up to you to pursue it. If you don't, they won't be as head-over-heels, but they'll still have each other's backs when it matters. If you do make them a power couple, you'll likely get more out of the experience. "When you bring them together, it feels like you're a steward of their relationship, and you feel protective of them as a unit," Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson told IGN. "But this is something we did not know when we started, and it really had to be something we felt our way through."

With Rockstar ramping up marketing—last week they had real cars modified to look like GTA vehicles driving around Miami—the hype is real. So, what do you think? Is video game dating cheating, or are people overreacting? Will you be picking this up in November?