Rockstar may have already teased a GTA 6 protagonist in Grand Theft Auto 5 and 4, according to a fan theory. The theory posits one of the sequel's playable characters was mentioned - and deliberately not seen or heard - in both GTA 4 and 5, introducing his story to series fans while leaving the details open for GTA 6.
Rockstar has yet to officially reveal GTA 6, but that hasn't stopped several big rumors from cropping up in the past few years. Since at least 2018, the idea of a GTA 6 set in Vice City has repeatedly floated about, with rumors pointing to a release in 2021 or after. Subsequent rumors claimed GTA 6 will span multiple cities, including Vice City and Liberty City, and others claimed the game will take place in multiple time periods. All that's known for sure is GTA 6 is currently in development, according to a Rockstar tax report, but fans are still guessing about its story and setting.
Reddit user Empires recently shared one possible set-up for the story. Empires argues GTA 6's protagonist could be Sammy Bottino, the former right-hand man of GTA 4's Gambatti crime family who was imprisoned at the time of GTA 4. Liberty City police records placed Sammy's birth in 1965 Liberty City, and, while the Gambatti family was located in Liberty City, the records also reported Sammy was wanted for murder in Vice City. In GTA 5, players rescued Sammy's daughter, Antonia Bottino, from someone Sammy ratted out while in prison. She told players Sammy "pretty much ran the East Coast" in the 1980s and '90s.
Empires' theory argues that these details are perfect for a classic, Godfather-style mob story. Since Sammy would have only been in his late teens and early twenties in the '80s, the fact that he "ran the East Coast" at such a young age is impressive enough for a GTA protagonist's story. It also aligns with the rumors about GTA 6 jumping between time periods and cities. Despite being based in Liberty City, Sammy was wanted for murder in Vice City, so Empires argues he may have been sent there to expand the Gambretti family's influence along the East Coast as a whole.
Additionally, if the time jumps suggested by the rumors span a larger period than just the '80s and '90s - say, jumping from the '80s to the 20-teens or 2020s - Sammy was still alive at the time of GTA 4, so he could still play a role in more modern story sequences. It's also possible that Sammy's daughter, Antonia, could be playable in the modern sections, since GTA 6 is rumored to have a female protagonist. But a big factor in Empires' theory is that Sammy has never been voiced or rendered in-game, leaving his appearance and voice actor open for Rockstar to refine over all these years. The same can't be said for Antonia.
A recent tease direct from Rockstar complicates Empires' theory, however. A new image on Rockstar's website shows what appears to be a robot with a wine bottle marked "1998." If this is a tease for GTA 6, it would seem the game might not take place in the '80s or '90s, after all. But it could still be a tease for the more modern sections of the game, if the time jump rumors are true, or it could be a tease for a different game entirely.
Grand Theft Auto 5 released on September 17, 2013, for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, on November 18, 2014, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and April 14, 2015, for PC.