A new ‘KnoWay’ robot is causing chaos in Grand Theft Auto Online’s upcoming DLC

Grand Theft Auto Online’s latest expansion involves a robo-taxi from a fictional but familiar company dubbed “KnoWay,” whose sole purpose seems to be to cause chaos.

A trailer released Friday shows KnoWay trucks adorned with lidar sensors swerving down city streets, destroying other cars, and crashing into a billboard for the problematic company.

While all of this is more chaotic and destructive than even some of the worst behavior committed by Waymo’s robot car, the in-game self-driving vehicles resemble the company’s previous-generation Chrysler Pacifica. The expansion is called “A Safehouse in the Hills” and is available starting December 10.

It’s not clear if the trucks in the trailer have been hijacked by playable characters, in true Grand Theft Auto fashion, or if they’ve gone rogue. It seems likely that it will be the latter, as Rockstar Games says that players will be encouraged to “pause development of a mass surveillance network in an all-new, action-packed adventure” as part of the DLC. (The trailer also features a story involving an AI assistant named Haviland, so it seems like the world of technology in general is part of this particular story.)

Waymo said it would deny government requests for footage captured by its vehicles if those requests were “too broad and unlawful.” But its robotic cars have nonetheless drawn criticism for being part of a growing surveillance state. This frustration contributed to company vehicles becoming the target of multiple cases of vandalism. Waymo SUVs have been burned, smashed, and had their tires slashed in various cities over the past few years.

Rockstar is clearly tapping into the same dynamics here, as KnoWay’s “autonomous pager system” tagline in the game is: “We know where you’re going.” It’s not hard to imagine some DLC players taking out some of their frustrations about virtual vehicles once the update is released later this month.

Waymo declined to comment.

At TechCrunch Disrupt in October, Waymo co-CEO Tekdra Mawakana spoke out against the vandalism, saying her company is “very focused on working with law enforcement to make sure we go after the people who commit these crimes against our fleet.”