Grand Theft Auto V and Windows Phone

File this under ‘mildly interesting’ but it looks like the hotly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 5, a game that has never been accused of lacking a sense of humor, has a little mobile surprise in it.

The gaming site Kotaku published their GTAV walkthrough video today, which in and of itself is worth your time, but at around the 0:50 second mark a virtual Windows Phone is spotted. The device is used by ‘Trevor’ one of the optional protagonists in the game to snap self-portraits.

Charlie Murder
Windows Phone is a key tool in the hit game 'Charlie Murder'

Like a lot of modern games, virtual smartphones are being used more frequently and not just for gimmicky purposes like selfies but for mapping, calling other characters and even emails. For instance, the hit indie game Charlie Murder on the Xbox 360 makes use of a Windows Phone for tips and instructions and Dead Rising 3 for the Xbox One uses SmartGlass to enhance gameplay by actually calling your phone.

Sure, the spotting in GTAV not a huge deal but seeing the iconic Windows Phone more often in pop culture helps reinforce its legitimacy with users, so it’s a good thing to see.

There is some irony here though. Rockstar Games features Windows Phone as a tool in gameplay, but the company created a real smartphone app—for the iPhone—called iFruit. No word if we’ll see a similar companion app for Windows Phone.

Baby steps, people. Baby steps.

Watch the video from Kotaku above and wait for the 50 second mark for the fun.

Source: Kotaku; Thanks, WTapper, for the heads up