Fans are speculating yet again on the not-yet-confirmed GTA 6, following a peculiar Instagram story post that featured Vice City-like scenery. The post was shared by Rockstar Games Manager and Music Supervisor Tony Mesones, who also tagged the official Rockstar Games Instagram account in the post.
This is precisely the reason why the post led fans to believe that this could have been a hint that the potential next installment of the well-known franchise is making its way to Vice City, a location that we've come to recognize from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, one of the most successful titles to date. Mesones captioned the post as "Who said it would be cold??” in pink text, fueling more speculation.
- PS5 restock update: How to get your console
- GTA 6 release date, leaks, characters and news
- Plus: 5 things we want from GTA 6, and 2 we don't
Though the Instagram story post has since disappeared, it wasn't long until fans took the discussion to Reddit, with users having divided opinions on the cryptic matter. Some skeptical fans say that the post was merely about a Rockstar employee sharing a vacation snap, while others insisted that there was more to it.
"Poor rockstar employees. Can't go to Florida without having crazy people coming to conclusions," one user said in a discussion thread.
While the timing of the post and the location remain unclear, hopeful fans are assuming that the snippet was likely taken in Florida and the pink text could reference the famous Vice City pink neon logo spotted on the previous GTA title.
Some even went as far as to speculate about the potential title for the game: "GTA 6 Vice City Remastered."
the_manager_of_rockstar_games_music_shared_a from r/GTA6
But even if this is a big and convenient coincidence and Mesones did just innocently share a photo without a hidden meaning to it, it's certainly curious as to why he tagged the studio's official Instagram account in the post in question. The same was pointed out by another Reddit user: "Very true but why did they @ Rockstar Games, is there an event going on related to them. If you’re on a vacation, why tag your employer? Unless they covered it, of course."
However, several Instagram-savvy users have also pointed out that instead of just tagging Rockstar Games, Mesones might have actually re-posted an existing post from the studio's official Instagram account. This is due to the positioning of the Instagram handle and the appearance of the story post as a whole.
A Reddit user wrote: "That's not actually a 'tag', it's what comes up on Instagram if you share a post from an account..."
Alas, if this is, indeed a repost, the original post is nowhere to be seen. We even did a reverse image search just to be sure.
Regardless of whether the speculation proves to be true, there might be a long wait until the studio finally unveils the new title. This comes from a rumor from Tom Henderson, a reliable industry insider who claimed that GTA 6 may not be out until 2025. Henderson also backed the Vice City setting rumors as well as speculated that the game will reportedly feature multiple playable protagonists and an 'evolving' map.
Another source also discussed the fact that the studio doesn't have plans on releasing GTA 6 anytime soon, as its predecessor GTA V is due to be re-released on next-gen consoles such as the PS5 and the Xbox Series X. This ultimately means that Rockstar is unlikely to disrupt the GTA V re-release by unveiling a newer game that will inevitably shift the userbase's attention.
