Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto Online could be getting an update that brings Liberty City to the popular online game, according to a leaker. The addition of a whole extra city to explore would be GTA Online's biggest update to date, and would most likely draw back players who feel they have got the most out of GTA Online's current Los Santos map since its launch in 2013.
Liberty City is a location that's no stranger to Grand Theft Auto fans, being the first 3D city in the franchise that players could explore back in Grand Theft Auto III, and receiving a modern makeover in 2008's Grand Theft Auto IV. Since GTA IV and its story DLCs, The Lost and The Damned and The Ballad Of Gay Tony, Liberty City has been missing from the franchise, as Grand Theft Auto V moved to Los Santos, and used the same map for GTA Online, which has been where Rockstar has seemingly put its focus for the GTA franchise for nearly a decade.
Portuguese leaker Matheusvictorbr- has teased on Twitter that GTA Online is set to get a Liberty City map expansion (via ComicBook). Matheusvictorbr has built a following for various scoops, leaks, and teases about the Grand Theft Auto franchise and other Rockstar Games projects. In this latest tweet, they claim that an update, reportedly coming summer 2022, is a big one that involves a map expansion. They follow up the tease with a Statue of Liberty emoji, indicating that it could be Liberty City. While Matheusvictorbr has had some accuracy behind their scoops in the past, they've also made some errors, meaning the rumor should be taken with a grain of salt for now.
Rumors of GTA Online getting additional maps or expanding upon its current one with other cities in the franchise have often surfaced over the years since launch, with fans of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City also eager to see a version of the titular city with modern graphics. Rockstar clearly intends to continue focusing on GTA Online whilst developing GTA 6, having recently re-released the former on current-gen consoles earlier this month and announcing GTA+ last week, a subscription service for the online game that offers exclusive member perks. A free update as big as adding an entirely new city could certainly help with enticing players back to the nine-year-old GTA Online.
With GTA 6 confirmed to be in development, and various rumors and fan theories circulating about where it will take place, GTA fans clearly seem to be eager to explore more areas outside of Los Santos again. If Matheusvictorbr's GTA Online expansion rumor turns out to be true, a return to Liberty City with modern graphics could be welcome whilst waiting for the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto franchise.
Source: Matheusvictorbr/Twitter (via ComicBook)