GTA Vice City remaster is seemingly ditching the Confederate Flag

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Phil Cassidy has changed outfits ever so slightly

GTA 3
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

The GTA: Vice City remaster appears to have removed a Confederate Flag from a character's top.

As first reported by Kotaku yesterday on October 25, the GTA Trilogy trailer has switched out a Confederate Flag for a new image. Specifically, the t-shirt that weapons dealer Phil Cassidy wears in Vice City no longer sports the Confederate Flag, but now depicts a simple skull logo in its place.

This is just one scene featuring Cassidy, a recurring character in the original GTA Trilogy. As Kotaku rightly points out, this doesn't necessarily mean that Rockstar has outright removed all Confederate Flags from the forthcoming remaster of GTA Vice City, but it's a potential indicator that the flag could be absent from the remaster when it launches next month.

We emailed Rockstar to confirm the news, but did not hear back before we went to press. 

It's easy to see why Rockstar might have removed the Confederate Flag, a symbol synonymous with slavery and the Civil War that was fought over it, from the remaster of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. As Kotaku notes, this actually follows in the wake of the Apple App Store removed games that featured the Confederate Flag in 2015, and Twitch followed suit last year in 2020 by banning the symbol from the streaming site entirely. 

For a look back into Rockstar's past, head over to our GTA 3 interview with Rockstar North head Aaron Garbut for more.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.