The release of Grand Theft Auto 6, the latest in Rockstar Games' long-running GTA franchise, might still be far away. However, a concrete release date has not stopped avid fans of the crime simulation games to stop speculating about what contents the upcoming title might feature.

Rumors about Grand Theft Auto VI have been emerging practically since the release of the latest game in the franchise, GTA 5. With GTA 5's utilization of three protagonists, many have begun to speculate that the next game in the franchise would have the same feature. Even more, rumors emerged that Grand Theft Auto 6 would feature the first female protagonist in the series.

While the female protagonist in a GTA game sounds very compelling, such a scenario might not happen anytime soon. After all, the masculinity of the game has been asserted by no less than Dan Houser of Rockstar Games himself. In a previous interview with The Guardian, the GTA writer has expressed that being masculine is a central theme to Grand Theft Auto.

"The concept of being masculine was so key to this story," he said, referring to GTA V.

With this said, a female character might indeed appear in the sequels, but that character would probably not be headlining the title at all. At most, a female protagonist might be a playable character if multiple protagonists are involved. But headlining a GTA game? Most likely not.

Before everyone starts thinking that GTA is a misogynistic franchise, however, there is actually a very good reason why a female character might not work as a lead in a Grand Theft Auto title. For one, GTA is a crime simulation game, and if FBI data is anything to go by, three out of four crimes in the United States are committed by a male.

Apart from this, Grand Theft Auto features a lot of scenarios that are distinctly male, such as brawling through the streets with bare hands. Scenarios such could be applied to female protagonists too, but doing so might make a rather serious game like Grand Theft Auto seem like a match between two WWE Divas.

Of course, Rockstar could simply make a female protagonist along the likes of Zarya from Overwatch, whose imposing physical presence definitely makes her femininity a non-issue when it comes to physical fights. Then again, presenting a game headlined by a character like Zarya might not appeal to GTA's longtime fans as well.