The BBC GTA drama, The Gamechangers, is due to air tonight on BBC Two at 9pm.
Daniel Radcliffe plays Rockstar Games co-founder Sam Houser, with well-known actor Bill Paxton taking up the role of the now-disbarred lawyer, Jack Thompson.
“The Gamechangers tells the story of how British game designers pushed boundaries into uncharted territory, of how those fighting GTA become consumed by a battle that overwhelmed their lives, and how the subsequent fallout threatened to bring down leading players on both sides,” reads the BBC’s summary of the programme.
“This drama is for an adult audience and has not been authorised by the producers of Grand Theft Auto. Rather, it’s based on court documents and interviews with many of those involved in the real events behind this compelling story.”
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For those unfamiliar with the story behind the BBC drama, it follows lawyer Thompson, who waged a personal war against videogames. He showed a particular dislike towards GTA, and he filed several lawsuits against the game’s developer and publisher.
He claimed that videogames such as GTA were responsible for provoking violent acts of crime, in particular copycat crimes, in the real world.
Thompson even once described the GTA series as a “murder simulator”.
Watch The Gamechangers tonight at 9pm UK time on BBC Two. Or, if you’re out doing something else, catch it on the BBC iPlayer from 10pm.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.