A veteran developer of GTA shared that he once received a voicemail from a fan who confessed to being followed in real life by a cult that exists in the game.
The Grand Theft Auto franchise is renowned for its ability to cleverly incorporate real-world political and social themes into its games, often with a satirical spin.
Despite the release of GTA 6 being in the distant future, the excitement is undeniable. The recent announcement trailer for the highly anticipated game has already shown that the series will continue to incorporate popular real-life events and trends, only adding to the anticipation.
Despite frequently using real-life events as a source of humor, a developer for GTA 5 recently disclosed in an interview that certain fans had a more serious interpretation of the game’s in-game cult than originally anticipated.
The Epsilon Program was initially included in the GTA San Andreas game and has since become an integral part of the series. To promote the release of San Andreas in 2004, Rockstar even went as far as creating a fake website for the cult.
During an interview with IGN, Lazlow Jones, a former developer at Rockstar Games for almost twenty years, shared that he received a call from individuals who were fans of the fictional cult featured in the GTA series.
The Epsilon Program was first introduced in GTA San Andreas
During the development of GTA 5, Jones was contacted on his work phone by a woman who identified herself as a representative of the Epsilon Program followers.
The woman mentioned in the voicemail that she and the other members of the Epsilon Program were eagerly seeking to learn more about the cult established for the franchise.
“According to Jones, she was essentially implying that they were followers of the artificial religion that we had created.”
He joked, “My second thought was, let’s create a fake religion and make loads of money off of those seeking purpose in life!”
Jones went on to describe the phone call as a “crazy” experience and expressed his mixed emotions upon learning that the cult had legitimate followers. He admitted feeling both “excited” and “scared to death” about the situation.
He commented, “Her tone and words truly gave the impression that she was a devoted member of the Epsilon Program. It’s ironic how creating a parody of something can sometimes mirror reality. In 2004, we designed a website for the Epsilon Program, and all the language used clearly indicated it was a fabricated religion with a focus on financial gain.”
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