Starting from January next year, students at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville will be able to take an American history course focusing on the "GTA" series. It is reported that the course was originally planned to include content related to "GTA 6", but due to the postponement of the game's release to May 26, 2026, the plan has been adjusted.
IGN interviewed history professor Thor Olson about the course, officially titled "Grand Theft Auto: American History Since 1980 Through the GTA Series." Olsen said popular video games, such as Ghost of Tsushima's version of feudal Japan, shape people's perceptions of the real world. He said: "Based on this idea, the core of this course is American history, not the game itself, but "GTA" provides a structural framework for us to explore the past. I hope that by the end of the course, the perspective of students looking at these games and looking at modern America will completely change."
Of the GTA series, Olson is "most looking forward to using San Andreas as a teaching tool" because the game takes place in a fictional Los Angeles. He pointed out: "Many people may be able to see that the plot in the game is a metaphor for the Los Angeles riots of April and May 1992 - one of the most important turning points in contemporary American history, but also widely misunderstood. Explaining the roots and significance of this violent unrest is one of the core goals of my course."
It is worth mentioning that this history course does not require students to actually play the "GTA" series of games. Olson doesn’t want to put a financial burden on students and will instead show live footage of the game in class. He also believes that this university course is the first of its kind in the United States - only Canada's Wilfrid Laurier University has previously offered courses related to "GTA" (but not with history as the core).
This isn't the first time Olsen has used a popular game series to teach history lessons. In fact, the professor had previously explained American history from 1899 to 1911 through the "Red Dead Redemption" series.
Looking to the future, Rockstar believes that "GTA 6" will set "the largest game launch record in history." This statement is not groundless. In fact, last year, Circana analyst Matt Piscatella pointed out that "GTA 6" may become the most important work in the history of the entire gaming industry.