Rockstar Games has a knack for including intriguing detail within its open-world games. This is apparent in the Grand Theft Auto series, with each title offering new easter eggs and mysteries that leave players scrambling for clues. Grand Theft Auto 5 is no exception, providing Rockstar fans with a plethora of brand-new mysteries, some of which have not yet been completely solved even after eight years of gameplay.
From aliens to Jesse Pinkman, Rockstar really did extend the boundaries of easter eggs in GTA 5. For starters, it has the biggest map compared to any other GTA title, with seventy-five square kilometers of land and water for secrets to be buried in. Although some easter eggs are clearly just gimmicks added by the developers for a quick laugh, such as the “Caravan of Love,” others hint at a deeper meaning. These riddles have become an integral part of the GTA 5 community, with some players attempting to explain them through videos and shockingly detailed theories.
Infinity Killer Mystery
One of the creepier mysteries found across GTA 5’s map is the “Infinity Killer,” a disturbing tale with a partially unsolved ending. This mystery starts off in the small town of Sandy Shores, where a derelict shack can be found. Inside the shack, players will find a newspaper clipping referencing a man called Merle Abrahams who has supposedly died in a penitentiary. A few streets away, players can find the burnt-down house of this alleged killer of eight victims, with vandalism on the walls as well as the killer’s own messages. Following the clues left by these messages, players eventually come across a rough drawing of a map, symbolizing a real place within the GTA 5 universe.
Visiting this place and diving beneath the ocean, a chilling sight can be found: eight dead bodies, cocooned in cloth, dumped along the seabed. Although the finding of his eight victims seems to conclude the “Infinity Killer,” an unanswered question remains. At the end of one of Merle’s messages, he writes “until I return,” suggesting he is not dead and is at large somewhere in the world. Another oddity is the poem he had carved into a rock, with a rhyming sentence for each of his eight victims. The last line reads “8 won’t wait,” leading some players to believe that this was a reference to himself.
Ocean Hatch Mystery
When exploring the underwater realm of GTA 5, players can come across a mysteriously locked hatch buried into the seabed with a small window emitting light from within. This hatch is located on the East side of the map and is precariously placed just below crush level, so players must be careful when investigating it. If the player hangs around for long enough, they will hear a tapping noise coming from inside the hidden chamber, hinting that someone is banging on the door. Although these taps translate into morse code, spelling out “hey, you never call, how’d you fancy going bowling?” as a comical reference to GTA 4’s Roman Bellic, the real purpose of this hatch has not yet been discovered.
Cockerel Mystery
Even though many of GTA 5’s mysteries carry a sense of foreboding, some do have a humorous edge. An example of this can be found at the top of the map, nestled in the mountains. On a steep rock face, impossible for players to reach on foot, a white chalk drawing of a cockerel can be found. Although clearly a cockerel, the animal does bear a suspicious resemblance to a phallus. The truly mysterious thing about this cockerel is that it superseded an image that was there previously: a portrait of a man, whose identity has never been confirmed. Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad is the most common guess for players, with some declaring that the portrait belongs to a rogue Rockstar developer who decided to put his face onto the rock as a joke.
Mrs. Philips Mystery
One mystery that every player who chooses to keep Trevor alive may have experienced, is the puzzle of his mother’s appearance—then disappearance. After the final story mission, with Trevor still alive, a question mark will appear above his trailer indicating a Strangers and Freaks mission called “Mrs. Philips.” The mission consists of Trevor’s mother appearing after a stint in jail and asking her son to steal a van full of drugs. After doing so, Trevor returns to an empty trailer, leaving players to wonder what happened to Mrs. Philips. The rational answer would be that she randomly left before the mission could be completed. However, other theories suggest that she was a hallucination, triggered by Trevor’s gasoline-sniffing habits. Either way, her uncanny disappearance remains unexplained.
Rockstar Games delights in leaving puzzles for players to solve, even if they fail to reach a conclusion. Many of the easter eggs found throughout Los Santos and Blaine County have been figured out by the GTA 5 community, leaving a small minority that still lack an explanation. With GTA 6 being a distant dream, the spotlight will remain on GTA 5 for a while longer, giving players time to work through the remaining unsolved mysteries and hopefully produce some final answers.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is available on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions in development.