Starting next January, students at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville will take an optional American history course focusing on the GTA series.It is reported that the course was originally planned to be included in the relevant content of "GTA 6", but the plan has been adjusted as the game is postponed to May 26, 2026.
IGN interviewed history professor Thor Olsen for this course, officially called "The Legend of the United States: Watching American History since 1980 through the GTA series of games".Olson said that popular video games shape people's perception of the real world, such as the feudal Japan shown in "The Soul of Tsushima Island"."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 after the course, the perspective of students looking at these games and looking at modern America will completely change."
In the GTA series, Olson "looks most at using San Andreas as a teaching tool" because the game's story takes place in the fictional Los Angeles.He pointed out: "Many people may see that the plot in the game is a metaphor for the riots in Los Angeles from April to May 1992 - one of the most important turning points in contemporary American history, but it is 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 is unwilling to increase financial burden on students, but will show the game's real-time video in class.He also believes that this university course is the first in the United States - only Canada's Wilfrid Laurier University has offered courses related to "GTA" (but not history as the core).
This is not the first time that Olson has opened a history course with the help of popular game series.In fact, the professor had previously explained American history from 1899 to 1911 through the Red Dead Redemption series.
Looking to the future, R Star believes that "GTA 6" will set the "largest game release record in history", which is not groundless.In fact, last year, Circana analyst Matt Piscatra pointed out that "GTA 6" may become the most important work in the history of the entire gaming industry.