An image of the box art for Grand Theft Auto 6 recently surfaced on social media, causing a great deal of confusion as fans tried to figure out its nature and veracity. Rockstar only recently officially announced the next chapter in its long-running open-world crime franchise, and the game has been mostly shrouded in mystery aside from leaks and insider reports on features such as GTA 6's impressive engine.
Fans of the series have been hungry for any and all news pertaining to the next Grand Theft Auto entry for years now, as Rockstar has been remarkably tight-lipped about the next installment. Many have speculated that this radio silence comes down to the company's laser focus on GTA Online, which continues to receive hefty new updates with each passing year. This lack of official information hasn't stopped fans from theorizing about what Grand Theft Auto 6 might look like, however, and there has been much discussion about the game's potential mechanics, features, and setting, which is commonly believed to be Vice City. Fans have also made their own mock-ups of the game's map and key art, with a recent example being the Scarface-inspired GTA 6 logo.
It looks like another unofficial piece of Grand Theft Auto 6 art has surfaced, although this time it appears to have fooled some fans on social media. DarkViperAU shared a screenshot of a Twitch category search, and one of the potential hits was "Grand Theft Auto VI" along with an image of tropical-looking art, fitting the theory that this next entry would take place in Vice City. However, Twitter user Cameron went on to debunk this cover art, finding the stock image used for its palm trees (via Dexerto).
While some fans on Twitter are not completely convinced that this image is fraudulent and have suggested that Rockstar could have simply used a stock image for a piece of art, there are a few reasons that seem unlikely. For one thing, Grand Theft Auto 6 is set to be a massive game and one of Rockstar's most ambitious projects, so it would be strange for the developer to make use of stock art rather than using a staff artist or commissioning a piece of art. This scale and the hype behind the game would also mean that Rockstar would be less likely to let preliminary artwork leak in such a major way.
As for what caused this picture to surface, that is unclear at this time. However, it seems likely that some outside party somehow uploaded the GTA 6 image and titled it as such. Until Rockstar releases more official information about Grand Theft Auto 6 box art, fans will have to keep using their imaginations.
Sources: DarkViperAU/Twitter, Cameron/Twitter (via Dexerto)