After over a decade of trying to solve the GTA 5 mystery, one of the game's developers has officially pulled the rug.
Rockstar Games' ability to hide easter eggs and troll fans outright is unparalleled. It has sent fans on wild goose chases for years, even including as recently as last week as it had the entire [Theft Auto community] studying moon phases while waiting for news about Grand Theft Auto 6.
So, is it really any surprise that it has spent the past decade keeping players on the hook for what might be one of the longest ruses in the franchise, and gaming overall?
As revealed by former Rockstar developer Ben Hinchcliffe on the GTA VI O'clock podcast, the popular Mount Chiliad mystery and conspiracy theory is nothing more than just Rockstar deciding to have fun with its players.
Although Hinchliffe did confirm that he wasn't part of the team who added it to the game, he did mention that the Mount Chilliad mystery is just one of those Easter eggs that Rockstar put in "mess with people", explaining that "they don't actually do anything."
To be fair, it has worked wonders. There's still an active subreddit dedicated to the mystery, with over 40,000 users working together to come up with an answer, some of whom have been playing digital detective since the launch of GTA 5.
Believers of this long-standing theory believes that Rockstar hid a secret related to a cryptic map found on the aforementioned landmark in Los Santos. They have connected several dots over the years, saying that they are all linked to aliens, the occult, and even other universes. However, as per Hinchliffe, all of these efforts have been all for naught.
Of course, it is possible that Rockstar could've had a different plan in mind for the mystery. After all, Rockstar didn't set out for Grand Theft Auto Online to become as big as it has and there was additional single player content in the pipeline.
Perhaps the Mount Chilliad mystery is one of those pieces of content that Rockstar dropped and canceled, similar to the dedicated expansion for Trevor Philips, which both a former developer and the voice actor himself confirmed in the past was in active development before Rockstar went heavy on GTA Online.
If it's any consolation, GTA 6, which is coming out next year, is expected to have multiple single-player post-launch content releases, similar to one of its precedessors, Grand Theft Auto 4. If we're lucky, Rockstar will push through with the said plans, and maybe, just maybe, give us a modern remaster of GTA 4 while they're at it.
Speaking of Hinchcliffe, in the same podcast, he shared good news about GTA 6.
Ray was an instant fan of the GTA universe as a kid, ever since he first heard the iconic line “Hmm...nice bike.” He has subsequently spent countless hours in GTA worlds — warring, joyriding alongside Niko Bellic, and hanging with cousin Roman.
Of all the GTA titles that have consumed Ray’s gaming life for over a decade, he insists GTA IV reigns supreme. His articles and analysis provide diehard fans a mix of nostalgia for GTA’s golden age alongside hype about what’s new and what’s next.
While Ray loves to debate franchise favorites, his passion for all things Grand Theft Auto from the early 3D era to today is unmatched. For entertaining coverage celebrating GTA’s past, present and future from a day one devotee, read Ray’s stories.
