A recent addition to an artist’s portfolio has Grand Theft Auto fans running wild with speculation. The images in question feature a high-resolution version of infamous Grand Theft Auto locale Liberty City on display, and is reportedly the work of a Rockstar Games artist.

The artist in question is Adrian Page, but it’s unclear if this is the same Adrian Page who reportedly works for Rockstar Games as an artist. It could easily be someone trying to stir the pot, but the dots do connect in some respects.

While it’s easy to see this as just a fan project or something being used to draw in new work, that hasn’t stopped the Grand Theft Auto fan base from taking the lead and running with it. Right now the prevailing assumption, though, is that Grand Theft Auto Online is set to expand to the streets of Liberty City, a popular destination for the GTA franchise.

If the images are legitimate but not attached to GTA Online, another theory suggests that this is scrapped work from a prior piece of GTA development. They could be either some test renders for a current-gen Rockstar game – perhaps a proof of concept before GTA 5 chose to return to the Los Santos – or a pass at GTA 4 on PC even.

grand theft auto liberty city textures
grand theft auto liberty city lake

Of course, the wildest of speculation suggests that Grand Theft Auto 6 will be returning to Liberty City once again, this time exclusively on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Considering that publisher Take-Two Interactive has said that Rockstar Games is poised to announce its next game “soon,” that doesn’t sound too far-fetched, but it’s also the least likely scenario. Most assume that Rockstar’s next game will be a follow-up to Red Dead Redemption, or, if not that, a sequel to Bully.

Then again, this could all just be the work of a fan and the fans are getting riled up for nothing. The timing suggests otherwise, but Rockstar is a very secretive developer, arguably one of the most secretive. So until someone comes forward to make a reveal it’s better to treat all of this with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Even if it isn’t real, the Liberty City design is stunning and should have Grand Theft Auto fans excited for what the future could look like on new platforms. Couple that with the fact that new Nvidia graphics cards are launching and Sony and Microsoft are rumored to reveal more powerful versions of their current-gen consoles, and things are looking very bright across the board.

Source: GamesRadar, Adepage