"We got military drone training in GTA V before GTA VI:" gamers lament as Ukraine UAV maker shows off

Ukraine drone maker WeTrueGun modified the popular Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V) video game to keep busy during training courses for controlling real-life unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Redditors and gamers joke that anything could happen sooner than the release of GTA VI.

“Modern problems require modern solutions,” says the age-old meme. And what screams 21st century more than a drone maker training users how to control UAVs meant for real-world war than training pilots using GTA V?

WeTrueGun shared an Instagram video of a drone operator flying around GTA V, aiming at moving terrestrial and aerial vehicles. The skill has become essential as Russia’s war in Ukraine has brought drone technology to the forefront of modern combat.

Reportedly, over 80% of targets the Ukrainian military destroys on the battlefield are eliminated using drones, most of which are produced within the Eastern European nation.

Meanwhile, according to WeTrueGun, the modified version enables operators to navigate a “huge open world,” modify specifications for the virtual drone, and fly all around the digital map. For maximum effect, operators connected a real drone controller, noting that "it actually feels surprisingly close to flying a real setup.”

“Not a replacement for real training, but a great way to chill, experiment, and keep your fingers sharp,” reads the Instagram post.

While humans still do the heavy-lifting in drone warfare, experts believe modern warfare will eventually lead to global powers utilizing AI to operate swarms of drones, adding another level of terror to the already hellish landscape of the modern battlefield.

For example, drone expert Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov said he’s seeing signs that Russia is moving “aggressively” on several new vectors of drone development.

According to him, Russia “borrowed” innovative technologies from the Ukrainians and rapidly scaled them. This had already happened before, Beskrestnov said, when Ukraine tested the fiber-optic drones, and Russia soon began mass-producing them.

Redditors and gamers quick to take note

Despite somewhat morbid implications of gamifying war, Redditors on the GTA-dedicated subreddit were quick to share insights.

“Why does he keep bullying the taco trucks lol,” one Redditor joked.

“Attack-A-Taco,” another replied.

A third one replied with a more somber note, saying that drones often target cargo trucks and armed personnel carriers (APCs), aiming at their weakest points.

Gamers also pointed out that using GTA V to train for drone warfare might not be the most efficient way to do so, as the video game physics are hardly comparable to real-life situations.

“GTA V has a small map and unrealistic physics, I would do this in Arma 3, which has a proper flight model, much bigger maps/realistic scale, better explosion effects, etc.,” one Redditor said.

Others pointed out that it seems the world got GTA V mods aimed to train for real-world wars sooner than the new version of the GTA game. The release of GTA VI has become an online joke, as it has been pushed back at least twice.

First, Rockstar, the game’s developer, aimed to release GTA VI in early 2025, but later pushed the deadline to November 2025. However, the release date was later pushed to May 2026, and again, to November 2026.

“We got government-sponsored mods before we got GTA VI,” the Redditors joked.

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