South Park has used its latest episode to show new Grand Theft Auto 6 gameplay, and the clip centres on a bag of dog poo. VGC reports that the episode, titled Guinea Pig on a Stick, aired in the US on Wednesday 28 October. It includes a sequence in which protagonist Jason slaps a stranger across the head with the bag.
The footage arrives late in the episode, which follows Stan, Cartman and Kyle as they try to get local beef back into their schools after the town’s supply becomes highly prized. The owner of the steakhouse buying up all the beef tells them the shortage isn’t the real issue. In a line that seems to reference the US midterm elections, she says people are anxious about who will be in charge in November. She then switches on a television, warning that “a lot of good Americans died to smuggle this to us”.
What’s on screen is Jason on a beach, where a dog owner lets their dog poo on the sand and picks it up with a bag. Jason throws an object at the man, which starts a fight, and Jason grabs the bag and hits him with it. The woman in the episode narrates the clip like a feature walkthrough. She says the dog poo is an example of the game’s world-building, and that players can throw things at a dog owner and then use the bag against them if they fight back. She ends by saying that’s what’s coming in November, a nod to the game’s release month.
VGC says the footage was “presumably” supplied by Rockstar, and Complex confirms it. Complex reports that the episode’s credits include a special thanks to Rockstar Games for providing the clip. Complex also notes that the woman in the scene is voiced by Tish Hicks, who previously narrated a GTA V trailer. That fits the joke, since the sequence imitates a Rockstar trailer voiceover.
The timing helps Rockstar. With GTA 6 set to launch on 19 November, Complex says the studio has gone all out on marketing, including a themed Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks game on the eve of release and a tie-in album, Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album. A cameo in a Comedy Central show adds a new way to show gameplay beyond trailers and social posts.
The cameo also continues a pattern for the show. VGC notes that previous episodes have centred on World of Warcraft and Guitar Hero. A Rockstar game has appeared before too. When Red Dead Redemption 2 launched, it featured in the episode Time to Get Cereal, where Sergeant Yates resents an investigation into a mutilated school child because it interrupts his Red Dead 2 sessions.
When does GTA 6 come out?
Rockstar’s date is 19 November, a Thursday. The game is confirmed for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with no PC version announced.
Has South Park used Rockstar games before?
Yes. Red Dead Redemption 2 was part of the plot of the episode Time to Get Cereal. The show has also built episodes around World of Warcraft and Guitar Hero.
