GTA 6 fans have begun to speculate over whether or not Jason is the franchise’s first outwardly neurodivergent protagonist.
In a recent interview with Love magazine, longtime Rockstar Games writer Rupert Humphries spoke about how the team designed Jason and Lucia’s personalities. One specific comment that fans have latched on to is one where Humphries describes Jason as being “wired differently.”
“We didn’t want to make any kind of statement with Jason’s backstory,” Humphries said in response to a question over whether or not Jason is a commentary on social class. “It needs to be understood that he takes the measures he does — drug trafficking and becoming a bank robber, etc. — because of his material circumstances. But a lot of this is up to the player to decide whether he needs to do that, or if it’s a choice he makes because he’s wired differently from other people.”
Fans have used this as a jumping-off point to reflect on some of the footage we’ve seen of Jason up to this point. During the extended gameplay reveal in August, fans were quick to point out that Jason is often seen missing social cues. At one point, he does a handshake with a character and raises his arm out to keep it going, only to quickly put it back down when he realizes the other person is no longer paying attention. He can also be seen avoiding eye contact with some characters and expressing anxiety over a meeting with a friend, noting he’s more comfortable with a gun.
Some fans have used this to speculate that Jason is actually neurodivergent. Some neurodivergent traits that he may portray are social fatigue (being drained by small talk) and masking (copying other people’s behaviors in an effort to fit in). It’s also possible that Jason is simply a very reserved, quiet guy. He’s ex-military, so he may just be more restrained and disciplined in his behavior.
We likely won’t get too much more insight into Jason, outside of maybe one more trailer, before launch. GTA 6 is less than 45 days from release now and Rockstar is preparing a massive marketing campaign. On top of murals and ads around major cities such as New York and Miami, Rockstar will also take over the Miami Heat for one night only and rebrand them as the Vice City Heat. They will play a regular-season NBA game against the Bucks on a Vice City-themed court in Miami on November 18.
