By Akshat Kabra

Copyright sportskeeda

A history professor named Tore Olsson recently announced he will conduct a special GTA college class. Olsson has already conducted a class on Red Dead Redemption and now plans to do so for Grand Theft Auto before its next installment releases. These games by Rockstar are so popular that they are studied by aspiring game developers. However, Olsson plans to conduct a history lesson on America through these popular titles.Here are more details about the GTA college class by Tore Olsson.History professor to conduct a special GTA college classTore Olsson will conduct a GTA college class named Grand Theft America: U.S. History Since 1980 through the GTA Video Games on January 20, 2026, at the University of Tennessee.While using a game to explain a country’s history might surprise many, it’s not the first time Olsson has done this. In March 2024, he conducted a history class on Red Dead Redemption, through which he taught America’s history and overall landscape from 1899 to 1911. Later, he also wrote a book called Red Dead’s History, of which an audiobook was narrated by Roger Clark, who played Arthur Morgan in both Red Dead titles.Speaking to IGN about his upcoming GTA college class, Olsson outlined what he is trying to achieve through the lecture. He particularly stated the class will not be about the games but about the overall cultural and political landscape depicted in them. The games will essentially become a base from which he will try to teach America’s history.”In my class, I take seriously GTA’s fictional representation of the United States: its characters, its urban and rural landscapes, and its storylines. And I use that world as the framing device for a serious history class that examines what’s actually taken place in the United States over the last half-century.”He emphasizes how the students’ perception about the games and their reflection of America’s current environment would shift:”The class is much more about American history than the games themselves, but GTA provides the framework that structures our exploration of the past. My hope is that after the class, students will never look at these games, or modern America, the same again.”Olsson added that this class was designed to be conducted after GTA 6’s release, since the game’s initial window was in Fall 2025. Although Rockstar Games pushed back GTA 6’s release date, he decided to go ahead with the class in January 2026:”I had originally hoped that it [GTA 6] would be a major part! I first began planning this class more than a year ago, when GTA 6 was scheduled for release in late Fall of 2025, well-timed for the start of our semester in January 2026. Of course, the recent delay to May 2026 made that impossible. So yes, that’s why we got a GTA college history class before we got GTA 6!”Check out our other content:GTA Online players experience issues unlocking Winter LSPD Officer OutfitGTA Online weekly discounts (September 18 – 24, 2025)Take-Two hints at revealing more GTA 6 details soon