In 2024, the UK Department for Education paid civil servants to play GTA Online with the public to observe their in-game interactions.
The Telegraph revealed that civil servants joined public lobbies and partook in GTA missions while asking other players about their experiences. They learned that members of the public "enjoy spending time at their nightclub business or on the yacht" and socializing while "driving around" — things you could probably glean from a Reddit thread or community reviews.
This was a tax-funded project from an initiative called 'Policy Lab', founded by the last Conservative government, that hoped to "reveal impactful insights about people's lived experience." Focus groups were also set up to "create an emotionally safe space" in a game notorious for fostering one of the most toxic, chaotic environments in online gaming — one where most interactions end with an Oppressor blowing you up.
While the goal might have been a well-intentioned bid to understand the public, in reality, it appears to be another case of out-of-touch politicians who don't understand video games trying to broach that world, with discoveries like "meeting people virtually is especially useful for people in remote locations." A quick glance at gaming in...
