Description
Since its launch, Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V) has attracted over 140 million players, making it the sixth most-played video game of all time. More than a decade after its release, the game continues to thrive as a space for vibrant online roleplay communities. These communities create immersive political narratives within the game, holding elections, appointing players to political positions, and broadcasting their activities to millions of viewers on platforms like YouTube and Twitch. Contrary to claims of declining public engagement with politics, these virtual spaces demonstrate an evolving form of political participation and community building. This paper presents preliminary findings from ethnographic fieldwork conducted in these online communities, examining how players navigate, engage with, and conceptualise political processes in a digital environment. This project ventures into rarely explored territories within international studies, engaging with groups overlooked by scholars to propose novel opportunities for political engagement, challenging its conventional definitions.
