Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition is bringing the classic open world games to modern platforms, revamping the graphics and outfitting them with a Grand Theft Auto 5-style control scheme to make them easier to play. It seems that the trilogy will also include some censorship not found in the original games as well, as fans spotted an altered detail in the Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition reveal trailer.
As pointed out by Reddit user Chazza354, it seems that Rockstar Games has changed the appearance of Phil Cassidy in the Grand Theft Auto trilogy so that he no longer has a Confederate flag t-shirt. In place of the Confederate flag is a skull logo of some kind. While the Confederate flag is highly controversial, some still see this as an odd move given the nature of the GTA games and that it's used in a satirical fashion. The Grand Theft Auto games don't celebrate the Confederate flag, but rather make fun of the characters that associate with it.
The possibility has been floated that Rockstar Games only removed the Confederate flag in the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy reveal trailer, but plans on keeping it in the game itself. If that was the case, though, one would think that Rockstar Games would have simply not shown any clips of Phil Cassidy in the reveal trailer to save itself from time. The more likely explanation is that the Confederate flag has been removed from GTA Trilogy, though Rockstar Games itself has not offered any clarification at the time of this writing.
If Rockstar Games has removed the Confederate flag from Grand Theft Auto Trilogy, it wouldn't even mark the first time that the flag has been removed from one of its games. As some may recall, Grand Theft Auto 5 changed a Confederate flag at one of its trailer parks to an American flag, though it did keep the Confederate flag clearly visible in other areas of the game.
Other video games have also removed or banned the Confederate flag. One of the more recent examples is when Forza banned the Confederate flag, making it so users could no longer use the design on their custom cars. This was in response to the George Floyd murder and the worldwide protests that came about from the incident.
It's possible that the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy has removed the Confederate flag in some instances or completely. It's also possible that it's still in the games with no changes. With the GTA Trilogy release date right around the corner, fans don't have to wait much longer to find out for themselves.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition launches November 11 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.