Since its debut in 2013, Grand Theft Auto Online has been going strong thanks to consistent updates, such as the popular GTA Los Santos Tuners expansion. Now, as it's nearly Halloween, horror and science-fiction events have made their way to the eerie coasts of Sandy Shores, with one strange UFO encounter taking the community by storm.

It's clear developer Rockstar Games is obsessed with mythological creatures, as a big part of what makes the fifth numbered entry in the successful action-crime series so special are the unexplainable details that are scattered across the map. From a ghost that haunts Mount Gordo to Bigfoot, these exceptional figures have fueled countless fan theories, like the infamous Grand Theft Auto 5 Mount Chiliad mystery. However, among those, UFO encounters have become the stuff of legends, with their inclusion in the franchise even spanning back to Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.

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Now, another mysterious UFO has hit Grand Theft Auto Online, leaving many players stumped after Reddit user brucejr01 shared their close encounter with the third kind. Captured while soaring through a thunderstorm in a red LF-22 Starling, the video shows the player approaching a UFO. But before making contact, brucejr01's rocket-powered aircraft is unexpectedly destroyed, and the unidentified flying object vanishes from sight.

With that said, what's split Grand Theft Auto Online fans is that the reason the player's LF-22 Starling was wiped out isn't exactly easy to explain. Some suggest that lightning struck the aircraft after the UFO disappeared, and the damage of such an occurrence is what killed the engine. While this sounds plausible, the more widely recognized consensus is that the alien flying machine was equipped with an EMP field, a device designed to disrupt electronic vehicles by scrambling their circuitry.

For the uninitiated, the LF-22 Starling is a compact fighter plane introduced in the acclaimed GTA Online Smuggler's Run expansion. The vehicle has a relatively small size and wide wingspan, featuring a framed canopy that swings forward for access, plus small hatches on the underside for the bomb bay. On top of this, it sports a rocket booster on the rear, which can be used for both take-offs and cruising flights. Now, since this is the only way the LF-22 Starling can maintain flight, an EMP blast would take it out of the air for good.

On the other hand, the presence of the UFO is surprisingly easy to explain, as Rockstar added the sightings to tease a Grand Theft Auto Online update. Over on Twitter, the developers hinted at a UFO-themed DLC for the multiplayer mode, meaning there is content in store for any gamers eager to explore Los Santos over Halloween.

Grand Theft Auto Online is on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The next-generation PS5 and Xbox Series X/S version will release on November 11, 2021.

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