Grand Theft Auto 6is the next title from developer Rockstar Games, which will see players exploring the vast state of Leonida, a fictionalized version of Florida. WhiletheGrand Theft Autofranchiseis renowned for its open-worlds, mature themes, and lawless gameplay mechanics, Rockstar is known to pack its modern titles with a variety of fun, weird, and downright disturbing Easter eggs. Many of these Easter eggs have earned a legendary status within the gaming community, but none so much as the Sasquatch. While the cryptid has made its way into various Rockstar titles, its appearances have been limited to the Western United States. By moving the action back to Leonida,GTA 6is poised to put the perfect twist on Rockstar’s Sasquatch Easter egg.
Grand Theft Auto 6is sure to feature nods to Rockstar’s legendary Easter eggs, and Sasquatch is among its oldest and most renowned. The origins of the Sasquatch Easter egg date back to 2004, when a rumor spread across the internet that the creature was sighted inGTA: San Andreas. While time proved these claims to be false, the Sasquatch did eventually make its Rockstar Games debut inRed Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare. A side quest called “Birth of the Conservation Movement” tasked players with hunting down a group of Sasquatch in the Tall Trees area of the map. In a harrowing twist, the side quest led to a rather dark conversation where the final cryptid begged to join its family in death, effectively erasing the Sasquatch from history. However, the creature has since appeared inGTA 5andGTA Online, with the latter offering players the opportunity to play as the creature itself.
Grand Theft Auto 6’s Leonida Could Put a Florida Twist on its Cryptid Easter Egg
Grand Theft Auto 6returns the mainline series to Leonida for the first time since 2002’sGrand Theft Auto: Vice City.Vice Citypredates many of Rockstar’s legendary secrets and references, with the Sasquatch rumor hitting forums a full two years after its release. As such,GTA 6’s Leonidaoffers the developer a unique opportunity to add new twists to its most popular Easter eggs, including the Sasquatch. While Rockstar could choose to simply continue the trend by hiding the creature among Leonida’s more untamed areas, the setting’s real-world counterpart, Florida, offers its own Sasquatch-like cryptid for adaptation: The Skunk Ape.
The Skunk Ape is a bipedal humanoid cryptid, most notably reported in the Florida Everglades. What setsthe Skunk Apeapart from other Sasquatch-like cryptids are its black fur, glowing red eyes, and terrible odor, from which it gained its name. Reported Skunk Ape sightings were highest during the 1960s and 1970s, but a few major sightings have supposedly occurred in recent years, with the most popular being a 2013 YouTube video titled “I think I saw a skunk ape - please help”. While the Skunk Ape is far more obscure than the Sasquatch, its unique features offerGTA 6a variety of fun and bizarre options for introducing the cryptid to Leonida.
GTA 6’s Skunk Ape Could Be Featured in a Variety of Ways
Rockstar has featured the Sasquatch in various ways, ranging from a hidden background image tomainlineGTAquest objectives, and it has the same variety of options with the Skunk Ape. What’s more, the cryptid’s unique features could see Skunk Ape introduced in a few key ways. Should Rockstar choose to feature the Skunk Ape as an overworld secret, players could search the forests at night looking for telltale red eyes to appear. If the cryptid is to be featured in a chain of side quests or a singular mission, players could be tasked with investigating a host of locations in which a strange smell was reported, before coming face to face with the creature.
It remains to be seen if or howGrand Theft Auto 6will put a unique spin on the Sasquatch Easter egg. However, the opportunities offered by Florida’s Skunk Ape cryptid make a great case for its inclusion in the title’s setting of Leonida.Information surroundingGrand Theft Auto 6has been scarce since its announcement in December 2023. Until Rockstar decides to share more details about the title,Grand Theft Auto 6remains just as mysterious as the cryptids featured in its Easter eggs.
Grand Theft Auto 6
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Grand Theft Auto VI heads to the state of Leonida, home to the neon-soaked streets of Vice City and beyond in the biggest, most immersive evolution of the Grand Theft Auto series yet.Jason and Lucia have always known the deck is stacked against them. But when an easy score goes wrong, they find themselves on the darkest side of the sunniest place in America, in the middle of a criminal conspiracy stretching across the state of Leonida — forced to rely on each other more than ever if they want to make it out alive.
