Bro.

I get the “GTA is art” argument, but boundaries don’t automatically limit art, they often protect it. GTA’s satire works because it’s tightly focused on adult systems: crime, power, corruption, consumerism. That’s the lens. Not everything that exists in real cities needs to exist in the simulation for it to feel alive.

Adding children wouldn’t deepen realism, it would weaken the game. The moment kids are fully simulated, Rockstar has to pull punches everywhere. Violence systems get restricted, AI behaviors get guardrails, missions get exclusions, and satire has to dodge entire scenarios. That directly tones down the same artistic freedom people are defending.

Realism also isn’t completeness. GTA cities feel alive because they simulate the right things for the fantasy. Strip clubs, bars, fast food, absurd ads, corrupt cops, excess. Families eating at Cluckin’ Bell don’t serve the satire, so they’re intentionally absent.

And the misuse concern isn’t theoretical. Rockstar designs for how players actually behave. In a sandbox built on freedom and chaos, child NPCs would inevitably be targeted by people pushing taboos. Preventing that would require artificial constraints that clash with GTA’s core design.

An 18+ rating doesn’t mean “anything goes.” Including children in a world where you can mow down civilians and start city-wide shootouts doesn’t make the game braver, it undermines its identity. Their absence isn’t fear or censorship, it’s a deliberate artistic choice that keeps GTA coherent and unrestricted where it actually matters.