GTA Online 2024 Study Paid UK Civil Servants To Play The Game
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James Lucas
Published Jun 17, 2026, 11:14 AM EDT
James Lucas is an Executive Editor at TheGamer who has worked in professional journalism since 2018. A Newcastle University graduate with a degree in Journalism, Media, and Culture, they have written hundreds of guides, news stories, and original reports, with bylines in IGN, NME, GaymingMag, and VG247, sourcing interviews with studio heads, legendary industry figures, prominent actors, and more.
An expert on FPS games, Soulslikes, RPGs, and survival horror, James has intimate knowledge of a wide variety of titles, providing in-depth coverage and exclusive profiles. Some of the games they have extensively covered include: Half-Life 3, Counter-Strike, Elden Ring, and Fallout. They pride themselves on their consistently thorough research, leveraging nearly a decade of industry experience. You can reach them at James.t@thegamer.com
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In 2024, the UK Department for Education paid civil servants to play GTA Online with the public to observe their in-game interactions.<br>The Telegraph revealed that civil servants joined 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.<br>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.<br>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 the pandemic would have told you this.
"Exactly The Kind Of Tory Hangover This Government Wants To Root Out"
One civil servant said that it helped expand their perspective on social policy, but didn't divulge how. Unsurprisingly, the study has been met with scrutiny, as Mike Wood, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, said that "Hard-working families will be in disbelief that their taxes are bankrolling this nonsense."<br>"Public-sector productivity is spiraling and yet officials are busy playing board games and video games and clay modeling," he said. "It's important that civil servants have the right skills — but playing Grand Theft Auto isn't among them. The government must halt this absurd waste of resources immediately. Taxpayers rightly expect value for money, and Labour must ensure they get it."
Another source said that "This sort of nonsense is exactly the kind of Tory hangover this government wants to root out."
Of course, this was broken by The Telegraph, a right-wing newspaper, and so may be biased with cherry-picked quotes, but it certainly appears that the UK government paid people to play video games to learn that people like playing video games. Another stark insight into how little understanding politicians have for the medium, when they could have simply brought in experts and spoken to game developers instead. But more broadly, it speaks to the lack of understanding regarding tech as a whole.
We are seeing this exact same tech-illiteracy play out with the government's aggressive push into mandatory online age verification. Despite massive privacy concerns and a porous infrastructure that tech-savvy users easily bypass using basic VPNs and even video game characters like Sam Porter from Death Stranding, the UK continues to double down. Regulators are now attempting to enforce sweeping age gates and full-blown social media bans for minors. Yet, they remain fundamentally unequipped to handle the digital workarounds people are already using to circumvent them
GTA Online
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Racing
Shooter
Action-Adventure
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Released
October 1, 2013
ESRB
Developer(s)
Rockstar North
Publisher(s)
Rockstar Games
Engine
rockstar advanced game engine, euphoria
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Franchise
Grand Theft Auto
Genre(s)
Racing, Shooter, Action-Adventure
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