// BBC HEALTH NEWS — SALUTE
GTA 6: Can you cheat on someone with a video game character?
The relationship between the two main characters, Jason and Lucia, is at the centre of Rockstar's latest Grand Theft Auto title
Imagine your partner spending hours flirting with someone else, trying to hold their hand and taking them on dates. Most people would have questions.
But what if that someone only exists inside a video game?
The latest instalment in Rockstar's blockbuster Grand Theft Auto franchise is set to be the biggest entertainment launch of the year when it is released next month.
Judging by previews, the connection between its two main characters is a central feature.
Rockstar has hinted that the Bonnie and Clyde-type protagonists Jason and Lucia do not have to become a full-on romantic couple.
But their relationship can grow by spending time together outside of the main crime and life-on-the-run storyline – through shopping, visiting bars and restaurants and working out together.
Smaller interactions like holding hands and quickly responding to each other's texts can help build a bond.
The idea has restarted a debate almost as old as gaming itself: if you are that invested in a fictional relationship, is your real-life partner entitled to be upset?
In September, polling company YouGov put that question to more than 4,000 British adults.