The Kortz Center Heist update for GTA Online has got fans convinced that some of the paintings they’re stealing are hints about GTA 6.
Given how Rockstar has been handling its marketing for GTA 6 so far, there really is no telling when the game’s next trailer will drop or even if it will get one at all ahead of the November launch.
As such, despite GTA 6 now being available for pre-order, it’s no surprise that portions of the GTA fanbase remain desperate for any sort of new information and are concocting new theories no matter how tenuous they may be.
The latest GTA Online update has helped exacerbate this, as it has plenty of fans thinking that Rockstar is using it to deliberately tease details for GTA 6.
GTA Online received a new update this week that added the Kortz Center Heist, which has you targeting an art museum to steal valuable paintings.
One of these paintings depicts a man and a woman in a car, with a thought bubble above the man’s head reading, ‘Chat, am I cooked?’ while looking at the woman distrustfully.
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Another, which is explicitly titled ‘Trust’, shows what looks like a Bonnie and Clyde-esque couple robbing a diner.
Both are being interpreted as references to GTA 6 protagonists Jason and Lucia, with the first one believed to also be a reference to theories that Lucia will betray Jason during the story, if not a hint that it’ll happen.
Theories of a betrayal are based on the short character profiles on Rockstar’s website, which say Jason meeting Lucia may be ‘the best or worst thing to ever happen to him’ and suggest Lucia is the more ambitious of the pair, being ‘committed to her plan — no matter what it takes.’
A more baffling theory is that this painting of what just looks like a group of women playing in a field is secretly a recreation of GTA 6’s map. As a reminder, Rockstar has not officially shared the game’s map yet, but fans have spent years attempting to recreate it based on leaked info and trailer footage.
It’s not just the paintings either. One of the update’s new characters has been spotted wearing the same necklace as GTA 6 cast member Carl Hampton while wearing a shirt with an ‘Art Oregano Vice City’ logo on it.
Since Vice City is one of the locations featured in GTA 6, it’s speculated that whatever Art Oregano is will appear in the game. Apparently, it’s meant to be a reference to the Art Basel art fair in Miami Beach, Florida, since Vice City is heavily inspired by Florida.
Looking through reactions on the GTA 6 subreddit, people are clearly split on whether these are deliberate teases on Rockstar’s part or just deluded fans seeing things that aren’t there.
For example, it’s argued that the painting supposedly hinting at Lucia’s betrayal is a more simple reference to a real-world painting called ‘In the Car.’
This is nothing new for the fanbase, as there were genuine theories that Rockstar was using the moon to tease a release date for a GTA 6 trailer; a theory that proved to be completely wrong in the end.
All this goes to show how much anticipation there is for GTA 6 and how Rockstar really doesn’t need to advertise it that much to get people invested.
Even without any real gameplay demonstrations, that haven’t been edited to look more cinematic, GTA 6 apparently made $1 million in pre-orders just one hour after they went live.
Some people are so desperate that they’re buying copies of the game off eBay for more than its standard £69.99 price tag even though its digital-only status means there’s zero reason to worry about stock shortages.
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