This GTA V Gaming Experience Is Based on Real-life Stories from Prostitution and Sex Trafficking Victims

In the GTA V city of Los Santos, prostitutes are exploited, beaten, robbed and killed with no rescue in sight. Until now. Swedish non-profit organisation Talita has launched a new GTA V experience based on the real-life stories of women who have fallen victim to prostitution and sex trafficking. The alternative GTA story - Mission Talita – flips the script of the cult franchise, allowing gamers to embark on missions to save the prostitutes of Los Santos. The game also includes an exclusive radio channel featuring music by Swedish House Mafia feat. Sting. The goal is to raise awareness amongst young men - an audience that is notoriously hard to reach - and engage them in the fight to shift attitudes that fuel the demand for sexual services. 

2024 marks Talita’s twentieth anniversary and today’s launch of Mission Talita goes to show our continued dedication to finding new ways of bringing visibility to the severe situations that far too many women all around the world face daily, says Anna Sander, co-founder of Talita. With GTA being one of the world’s most played and streamed games, the launch of Mission Talita acts as a trojan horse that allows us to come into contact with an audience whose help we need to create meaningful and long-lasting change, she continues. 

By downloading the Mission Talita mod, GTA V players get access to four new, fully playable, missions based on the true stories about Carmen, Bianca, Emmy, and Anastasija – women that Talita has saved from prostitution and sex trafficking between 2017 and 2023. 

All missions take place on the familiar streets of Los Santos, but in contrast to the regular gameplay in which prostitutes are exploited, beaten, robbed, and even killed, Mission Talita changes the narrative by familiarising players with the story of each woman, before setting them off on a mission to help the women out of prostitution. With this approach, players are given insight into the severity of the situations that millions of women face every day and what Talita does to help them. 

The possibility of purchasing sexual services in video games is a common phenomenon that, over the years, has become increasingly graphic and detailed. The fact that there's a place where young men, and women, are purchasing sex every day was an uncomfortable but important insight in order to reach a target audience that's notoriously difficult to reach, says Stephanie Moradi and Caroline Andersson, creatives at Swedish advertising agency Åkestam Holst.

Mission Talita is based on an idea from Åkestam Holst, the Swedish pro-bono ad agency of Talita. The mod has been developed by the talented GTA enthusiast FelixTheBlackCat, with support from Vxruz_Danz. The ambition has been to replicate core gameplay elements from GTA V to guarantee an authentic gaming experience. The custom-made in-game Radio Talita includes music from Swedish House Mafia feat. Sting, Salvatore Ganacci, and several other artists. By tuning in, players can enjoy a curated stream of in-game music and facts about Talita’s work. 

Mission Talita can be downloaded through the campaign site. The site also features the stories of the women on which the game is based, along with global facts and statistics about prostitution and sex trafficking. Visitors can also choose to support Talita’s work through donations or by purchasing exclusive merch from which all proceeds go to supporting their continued work.