GTA 6: Vice City' Fans Freak Out After Unverified Map Appears Online

 

Grand Theft Auto fans are once again freaking out over what they believe is a hint towards the nature of the next game in the series. A completely unverified image of a map started doing the rounds on ResetEra and Reddit earlier this week, reigniting old speculation that the in-development title will take place across Vice City and a new area inspired by South America.

Before we get any further, I want to make it clear that we're not convinced by this at all. This "map" seems to have come out of nowhere, and the only reason people are giving it the slightest consideration is because it happens to match up to another alleged leak from 2018, which itself was - and still is - completely unverified.

At this point everything we've heard about Grand Theft Auto VI is nothing more than speculation whispered into the ear of a rumour paraded into battle atop a vague feeling... which is to say there is very little concrete information out there. Maybe that's why fans get so into every little scrap they can get their hands on. It's been nearly a decade since Grand Theft Auto V, and we've seen nothing of the sequel. That's bound to do things to the most hardcore of fans.

The last couple of months have seen a few more substantial-looking GTA-related reports. Back in August, Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive updated the domains for "gtavicecityonline' and 'gtavi.com', just months after a string of rumours that suggested GTA VI will indeed be returning players to Vice City.

A little earlier in August, an 80's electro synth artist claimed in a now-deleted tweet that Rockstar Games has been reaching out to various artists to feature their work on the Grand Theft Auto VI soundtrack. According to "Vector Hold", the studio has been looking for Synthwave artists for one of the game's Vice City-inspired radio stations.

Meanwhile, Reddit user markothemexicam claims to have heard from a roommate that worked at Rockstar that GTA VI will indeed be set in Vice City, a location we haven't seen since the 2006 PS2-era game, during an "unspecified" time period. The leaker also claims the upcoming game will have unique weather systems that will actually affect NPCs, including "random lightning strikes".

Again, this is all rumour - though I would say that the multiple Vice City reports line up much more convincingly than an alleged leaked map that just appeared on Reddit one day. For now, all we know for sure is that a new Grand Theft Auto is in early development... although even then, it hasn't actually been confirmed that game is definitely GTA VI.

My advice? Definitely stay wary of any unexplained and unverified images out there on the internet, and wait until we actually hear from Rockstar about what it has planned for the next GTA.