--- title: "Why the UK Will Not Celebrate GTA 6 the Way France Did Clair Obscur" canonical_url: "https://www.gtaboom.com/why-the-uk-will-not-celebrate-gta-6-the-way-france-did-clair-obscur-5815" markdown_url: "https://www.gtaboom.com/why-the-uk-will-not-celebrate-gta-6-the-way-france-did-clair-obscur-5815.md" site_name: "GTA BOOM" site_url: "https://www.gtaboom.com" published_at: "2026-04-20T07:28:53Z" updated_at: "2026-04-21T10:02:28Z" section: "news" language: "en-US" primary_category_slug: "gta-news-053f" category_slugs: - "gta-news-053f" - "gta-6-news-7d1f" tags: - "GTA 6" - "Rockstar Games" - "Take-Two Interactive" authors: - name: "Ray Ampoloquio" url: "https://www.gtaboom.com/authors/ray-ampoloquio" hero: url: "https://media.gtaboom.com/media/images/14/c5/why-the-uk-will-not-celebrate-gta-6-the-way-france-did-clair-obscur-1.jpg" alt: "A minister just admitted this is why the government cannot celebrate GTA 6 the way France celebrated Clair Obscur." width: 1950 height: 1097 caption: "A minister just admitted this is why the government cannot celebrate GTA 6 the way France celebrated Clair Obscur." word_count: 1236 reading_time_minutes: 7 --- > [!INFO] TL;DR Summary _Grand Theft Auto 6_ is built largely in Britain, but the UK is unlikely to celebrate its release. Rockstar North and other UK studios may be doing much of the work. However, Rockstar Games and the _Grand Theft Auto_ property sit under New York-based Take-Two Interactive. Ian Murray, the UK's Minister of State for Creative Industries, Media and Arts, went on [The Game Business](https://www.thegamebusiness.com/p/uk-minister-its-not-a-problem-that "Ian Murray Joins The Game Business Podcast") podcast and addressed something that has frustrated and annoyed the British gaming industry and fandom for years. When asked why the UK government does not celebrate its gaming successes the way France did with _Clair Obscur: Expedition 33_, for example, Murray's response was refreshingly direct. > If we were the US, we'd be puffing out our chests, putting up the flags and marching up and down the main street, championing what we do. We have traditionally not done that from a cultural perspective. [_Grand Theft Auto 6_](/grand-theft-auto-vi-a428 "Grand Theft Auto VI"), which launches on [November 19, 2026](/take-two-just-confirmed-gta-6-is-actually-releasing-this-november-39ac "GTA 6 Release Date"), will be [one of the largest entertainment launches in history](/Take-Two_Believes_that_GTA_6_will_set_a_creative_benchmark "Take-Two Has High Hopes for GTA 6"). It will also be, in terms of where it was actually made, a predominantly British product, as [Rockstar North](/rockstar-north-caeb "Rockstar North") is in the UK. Yet, based on the minister's own comments, nobody in Downing Street is going to knight Rockstar developers or put out celebratory press releases about the British creative industries delivering another generational hit. The perception that [_Grand Theft Auto_](/grand-theft-auto-8695 "Grand Theft Auto") is American [is a careful and deliberate choice](/the-reason-grand-theft-auto-will-never-leave-america-according-to-its-co-creator-3f01 "Why GTA Will Always Be in America"). The satire is aimed at American culture, American media, American politics, and American consumerism. [Dan Houser](/dan-houser-5891 "Dan Houser"), Rockstar's former co-founder, once said, "_GTA_ isn't about America, it's about Americana. It's the America that was sold to the world." However, as we've already mentioned, Rockstar North, the lead developer on every mainline [_Grand Theft Auto_](/grand-theft-auto-8695 "Grand Theft Auto") title since [_Grand Theft Auto III_](/grand-theft-auto-iii-9fa6 "Grand Theft Auto III")_,_ is based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded as DMA Design in Dundee in 1987. [_Grand Theft Auto 6_](/grand-theft-auto-6-588b "Grand Theft Auto VI") has been in development at Rockstar North for the better part of seven years. [Supporting studios](/studios-b71e "Studios") include Rockstar Leeds, Rockstar Lincoln (which handles quality assurance), Rockstar Dundee, and Rockstar London. The [$3 billion budget](/gta-6-budget-may-be-higher-than-any-movie-ever-made-9a75 "GTA 6's Budget Makes Every Hollywood Blockbuster Look Cheap") has largely flowed through UK payrolls, the UK tax system, and the UK creative industries. Game / Franchise | Lead UK Studio | UK Location | Parent Company Location --- | --- | --- | --- Grand Theft Auto series | Rockstar North | Edinburgh, Scotland | Take-Two (New York) Red Dead Redemption series | Rockstar North (support) | Edinburgh, Scotland | Take-Two (New York) Forza Horizon series | Playground Games | Leamington Spa, England | Microsoft (USA) Batman: Arkham series | Rocksteady Studios | London, England | Warner Bros (USA) Total War series | Creative Assembly | Horsham, England | Sega (Japan) F1 series | Codemasters | Southam, England | EA (USA) Hitman series (historical) | IO Interactive (no longer UK) | N/A | N/A LEGO games | TT Games | Knutsford, England | Warner Bros (USA) The pattern is consistent. The UK makes world-class games, and the studios are British. Unfortunately, the intellectual property is not. This is the complication that Murray was dancing around in his interview. France's _Clair Obscur_ is different in that it is a French studio owned by Kepler Interactive, a publisher with significant French backing. When _Clair Obscur_ succeeded, the economic and cultural benefits flowed back to Francey. The French government could celebrate it as a French success story because the intellectual property, the ownership, and most of the revenue belonged to French interests. _GTA 6_ is different. Rockstar Games is a subsidiary of [Take-Two Interactive](/take-two-interactive-eeeb "Take-Two Interactive"), a publicly traded American company headquartered in New York. The game is made in the UK by British workers, but the intellectual property is owned by an American company. When _GTA 6_ generates billions in revenue, most of that money leaves the UK. This is the issue Murray is diplomatically not naming. The UK can celebrate British workers making great games, but it cannot fully celebrate British ownership of those games, because in most cases that ownership does not exist. ![GTA 6 is largely British-made but the UK government is unlikely to publicly celebrate it.](https://media.gtaboom.com/media/images/71/e7/why-the-uk-will-not-celebrate-gta-6-the-way-france-did-clair-obscur-2.jpg) Caption: GTA 6 is largely British-made but the UK government is unlikely to publicly celebrate it. There are other reasons the British government, or any other government, for that matter, would want to avoid celebrating _GTA_. It's a [controversy magnet](/gta-5-ban-in-middle-east-lifted-after-over-a-decade-7389 "GTA V Was Banned in UAE and Saudi Arabia for Years"). Many countries have banned the franchise, criticized by politicians across the political spectrum for its violence, its sexual content, and its satirical treatment of police, politicians, and institutions. It's not just the game either, as Rockstar has also found itselg in hot water lately, with the company [firing UK workers](/anonymous-developer-reveals-tense-situation-at-rockstar-games-following-mass-firings-2275 "Insider Explains GTA 6 Firings") for reportedly attempting to unionize. The company has also [underpaid workers](/rockstar-north-just-got-fined-by-the-uk-government-e806 "Rockstar Fined for Underpaying Employees"), while the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the October 2025 Rockstar firings "deeply concerning" in [December](/uk-government-to-get-involved-with-deeply-concerning-rockstar-games-firings-1610 "Rockstar Is In Trouble With the UK Government"). A government photo op celebrating a company that has had labor disputes investigated at the state level is not the obvious political win that a clean celebration of _Clair Obscur_ was for Emmanuel Macron. For what it's worth, Murray did announce a new £28.5 million fund intended to develop more homegrown UK gaming IP. Rather than celebrating games made in the UK but owned elsewhere, the government is trying to build an ecosystem that produces UK-owned hit games it can celebrate without complications. _GTA 6_ will launch in [seven months](/gta-6-countdown "GTA 6 Release Date Countdown"). It will most likely generate more cultural conversation, [more revenue](/analyst-expects-gta-6-to-make-billions-despite-potential-price-hike-b553 "This Is How Much Money GTA 6 Is Expected to Make"), and more economic activity than any film, book, or album released this year. The people who built it will wake up in Edinburgh on November 20 knowing they created the biggest entertainment product of the decade, and that will have to be enough, because, based on Ian Murray's interview, the people in government who could change that have decided the politics are too complicated to bother with. ## Quick answers - **Q:** Is GTA 6 a British game or an American game? **A:** Much of the development work is happening in the UK through Rockstar North and other British Rockstar studios, but the property and parent company are majority American-owned through Take Two. - **Q:** Who in the UK can credibly claim GTA 6 as their success? **A:** British developers and UK based Rockstar studios can claim the work. The UK government has a harder claim to the ownership side, because the Grand Theft Auto property and Rockstar Games belong to an American parent company. - **Q:** Why could France celebrate Clair Obscur more cleanly than the UK can celebrate GTA 6? **A:** Clair Obscur is presented as a case where the studio, backing, and benefits flowed back to French interests. GTA 6 is different because the development talent is British but the ownership and much of the revenue sit with an American company. - **Q:** Why would ministers avoid a big GTA 6 photo op even if the game is a huge hit? **A:** Grand Theft Auto has long attracted criticism over violence, sexual content, and its satire of institutions. Rockstar has also faced labor disputes and worker pay criticism, which makes any official celebration politically messy. - **Q:** What ties GTA 6 so strongly to the UK? **A:** Rockstar North in Edinburgh is the lead developer, and supporting work involves Rockstar Leeds, Rockstar Lincoln, Rockstar Dundee, and Rockstar London. The game has also been in development at Rockstar North for most of the past seven years. > [!INFO] What to watch for 1. Watch whether UK ministers praise Rockstar North and British developers at launch without trying to brand GTA 6 as a British-owned success. 2. Track the new £28.5 million fund for homegrown UK gaming IP and whether it produces British owned hits the government can champion more directly. 3. Keep an eye on how much attention goes to Rockstar North, Rockstar Leeds, Rockstar Lincoln, Rockstar Dundee, and Rockstar London once GTA 6 releases.