Grand Theft Autofans have been excited about a new leak ofGrand Theft Auto 6’s map, but one of the rumor’s strongest pieces of evidence has just been debunked. Fans have confirmed that suspected sequel teasers inGrand Theft Auto 5are, in fact, just stock images.
Even without any official news,Grand Theft Auto 6is a constant source of speculation for fans. It’s not hard to see why; seven years have passed since the original release ofGrand Theft Auto 5, giving fans plenty of time toimagine their dreamGrand Theft Autogame. Since Rockstar may have been working onGrand Theft 6for several years at this point, even years-old rumors still factor into the latest fan discussions.
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Fans believe thatthe map ofGrand Theft Auto 6was partially leaked in 2018, with a clearer version of the map leaking a few weeks ago. Some players even went back intoGrand Theft Auto 5to look for evidence. If players visited a certain strip club, several tropical postcards in a back room seemed to align with the leaked map design. The postcards feature the phrase “Paradise Isle,” possibly indicating that Rockstar had already planned major elements ofGrand Theft Auto 6years in advance.
Unfortunately, as noted by Redditor u/henriquedematos, the images on the postcards are stock images and have no relation to the upcoming game. This makes sense; given the development time required for a massive game likeGrand Theft Auto 5, it would unreasonable to expect Rockstar to create every image in the game. What this means for rumors thatGrand Theft Auto 6would return to thefan favorite Miami stand-in Vice Cityis unclear.
At the very least, fans looking for a more modernGrand Theft Autoexperience can turn to some exciting fan projects. For example,a gorgeous fan implementation of ray-tracinginGrand Theft Auto 5gives a hint as to what future series installments might look like. Plus, Rockstar’s studios have kept themselves busy with blockbuster games likeRed Dead Redemption 2in the years sinceGrand Theft Auto 5released, so Rockstar may simply not have made much progress onGrand Theft Auto 6.
Even if Rockstar is actively working on the game, it is probably better to keep it under wraps until a release date can be confirmed. Otherwise, the game might experience delays or require team members to overwork themselves. The backlash against crunch culture in game development has most recently affectedCD Projekt Red, developers ofCyberpunk 2077,and anything Rockstar can do to avoid that would be ideal.
