- UK civil servants played GTA Online during work to study player experiences and community dynamics
- The Policy Lab unit aimed to gain insights on virtual social interactions and in-game activities
- Officials learned some players value virtual socializing and experiences unavailable in real life
A taxpayer-funded project is facing scrutiny after UK Department for Education civil servants were found spending their work hours playing Grand Theft Auto (GTA) Online, a violent AAA video game. In December 2024, the government officials joined public lobbies and completed missions alongside everyday gamers. Their objective was to observe community dynamics and interview the public about their in-game experiences directly.
The experiment was conducted by 'Policy Lab', a small unit founded by the previous Conservative government, that hoped to "reveal impactful insights about people's lived experience", according to a report in The Telegraph. Developed by Rockstar Games, GTA frequently depicts violence and involves shooting, driving fast cars and evading the police.
One gamer told the officials that they "enjoy spending time at their nightclub business or on their yacht" in the game while another liked driving vehicles in the virtual world.
"Other insights included that “meeting people virtually is especially useful for people in remote locations”, and that some people enjoyed experiences that were not available to them in the real world, “such as running a successful in-game business,'" the report highlighted.
Mike Wood, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, criticised the experiment, dubbing it 'nonsense'.
“Hard-working families will be in disbelief that their taxes are bankrolling this nonsense. Public-sector productivity is spiralling and yet officials are busy playing board games and video games and clay modelling. Clearly, Labour's efficiency savings are a total sham," said Wood.
Mixed Reactions
Response from social media users was mixed, with a section questioning the purpose and the result, while others said it might have allowed the government officials to 'absorb' culture and technology like the general populace.
"My tax money paid for someone to get griefed by a 12-year-old in GTA Online," said one user, while another added: "Glad they conducted this research to learn that people enjoy nightclubs. No way they could've figured that out otherwise."
A third commented: "To be honest, I don't think this is a waste of tax dollars, and it doesn't necessarily translate to spying on us, though it certainly can mean that. This is how a good government stays on top of things. You can't just assume that the government will absorb culture and technology the same way the general populace does."
A fourth said: "I would hope that behind the scenes they're doing some actual research, modelling, quantitative/qualitative research etc. but I'm sceptical as they aren't advertising it if so."
