Grand Theft Auto V first came out in 2013, on the 17^th of September, for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It was an instant success, generating more than 800$ million in less than 24 hours after its release. GTA V has since become the fastest selling product in entertainment history, and has not been dethroned ever since.

GTA V has three protagonists (Franklin, Michael, and Trevor) who create chaos all around the island-city of Los Santos. Together, they take mission after mission of hilarious violence and depravity. As entertaining as this game is, it sure did spark controversies because of how it depicts women, criminality, and through its use of striking content. Still, it didn’t stop the players from loving every second.

Being set in a very rich universe, GTA V offers a world to discover and so many treasures and mysteries to find that it’s almost infinite. From one side of the map to the other, players can stumble upon clues to find hidden locations or resolved plot threads. Who knows what we’ll find next!

From these mysteries and other elements of the game, such as the gameplay itself, conspiracy theories were born into the tight-knit community of players. From creepy to mind-blowing, these ideas populated forums such as Reddit since 2013, and are still going strong! And that’s how I found out these juicy conspiracy theories about the fifth opus of the Grand Theft Auto series!

18 Michael’s Secret Identity

Prepare yourself for this crazy theory because it’s nuts and ... it makes sense! Michael, according to a forum on neoseeker, could be Claude from GTA III! As we know, Claude’s story starts in 1992 as a street racer, and he’s got a sweetheart: Catalina. She eventually betrays him during a heist, shoots him and leaves him for dead. But apparently, he survived and joined forces with the authority before turning on Catalina.

After, he’d be put on witness protection program and relocated into Los Santos, where he’s now known as Michael. He then re-built his life as we know it, with his gold-digger wife and terrible children. Also, if you compare both characters, they are indeed physically similar. Claude only looks younger, which actually backs up this crazy –but plausible- theory!

17 Rockstar Games All Happen In The Same World

You ever played a game and thought that it would fit really well with another one? A bit like they were from the very same universe and meant to be played together? You’re not alone! A lot of players have been thinking that all of the Rockstar games seem to happen in the same universe.

A theory states that Red Dead Redemption, L.A. Noire, and all of the GTAs happen in the same place, in the same world, but at different times. Red Dead Redemption, set in the 1910s, could lead to L.A. Noire, which takes place in the 40s, before the GTAs arrive, which cover the 90s, the 2000s, and the 2010s. Furthermore, this theory seems to be confirmed in GTA V because we find elements that seem to be coming from the other two games!

16 People’s Hearts And Locations Are Constantly Monitored

When an emergency or a crime is taking place, the police is usually not notified until someone calls 9-1-1. And even then, it takes a while before they arrive, may it be because your call is not a priority at that moment, or because of traffic. Whatever the reason, they don’t spawn instantly at the scene. However, in GTA V, the emergency services seem to be aware you’re committing a crime the instant you start acting.

A theory explains their omnipotence: it is believed that some private companies monitor people’s locations and heartbeats, making them act super-fast when a crime or an emergency is happening. They transfer the information to the police through computers, which allow them to be on their way to uphold the law before a good citizen calls in to report the incident. Somehow, I’m very glad we’re not at that point in the real world!

15 3… 2… 1… Action!

GTA V is a very entertaining game, to say the least. The characters are beautiful stereotypes, the scenarios for missions are crazy, there are cars and weapons when it’s convenient, and Los Santos is very glamourous. It’s all so very cinematographic, a bit like this game is orchestrated to look like it has been made by Hollywood.

But, wait. What if GTA V is, in fact, a movie set? A popular theory amongst players is that we play the scenario of a movie, and each character is an actor playing a role. In my opinion, that would explain why everything about GTA V is over-the-top, all the time! This game is beautiful, and honestly, if it’s ever adapted into a movie, I’m certainly going to see it!

14 1933 Conspiracy Theory Succeeded

In 1933, under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration, a conspiracy theory was born. It was believed that all influential industrials and bankers had made an alliance to destitute the president and his administration, in order to take the full power over the economy. This would have been the birth of the ultimate form of capitalism.

However, some players believe that in the GTA V universe, this conspiracy theory did not only exist, but succeeded. Therefore, the game happens 70-80 years later and takes place in this ultimate-capitalism society. This explains why all characters you meet are even more obsessed with technology, superstars, and their own image than we are, in the real world. This ideology also explains why people in GTA V are ready to do absolutely anything in order to get what they want, including acts of extreme violence!

13 Island Minded

Designing maps as islands is very convenient for game designers, for it permits them to clearly limit the area in which the player can navigate and integrate it to the narration, contrarily to many other open-world games that use transparent walls. In GTA V, the island on which the events of the game take place is named San Andreas, and is fictionally positioned in the southwest of the United States of America.

But this island may not only be a designing choice. In fact, the game happens on an island in the United States for a reason: it’s a metaphor of the closed mind of the people it caricatures. The United States population is known for its lack of acceptance of other cultures and ideologies, and GTA V is making a statement about it, criticizing this issue with the design of its map.

12 Each Character Represents A GTA Generation

If there’s something nice with GTA V, it’s how you can change character when you feel like it. And let’s be honest, you’re always up for a surprise when you take control of our favorite crazy redneck, Trevor. But beyond this, did you know that each of these cool dudes represents a GTA generation?

Trevor, as crazy and untameable as he is, embodies the first generation of the series, with the top-down games, which were concentrated on killing and stealing cars. Franklin represents San Andreas, Vice City, and GTA III because he starts low and poor, but finishes rich and powerful. Michael is the avatar of the latest generation, starting with GTA IV. He’s the reformed criminal who’s trying to change his ways, but cannot succeed because criminality is all he knows. This is a bit sad, frankly.

11 We’re All In Hell

Have you ever wondered why the world in the Grand Theft Auto series is so violent, and yet, people keep going on like it’s completely normal? Of course, we can blame this on the AI design and programing, but what if there is another reason? Some players have come with a theory that might explain all that chaos: the GTA series is set in Hell.

Yup, so basically everyone is dead and they are stuck in a chaotic world in which violence is the main way to live and survive. This could be seen as a form of purgatory: you’re given a chance to make up for your past mistakes before you die again. Depending on whether you’ve kept your criminal ways or not, you end up in Hell or Heaven, after dying in GTA. Good luck Trevor!

10 Flying Saucers!

The universe in GTA V is rich. There’s a lot more than what meets the eyes, and if you decide to dig into it a little bit, you’ll be surprised by what you may find. When developing the game, Rockstar decided they would give this opus a sense of reality by adding quite a few mysteries that bother the humanity every day.

In GTA V, when you complete the game at 100%, you need to keep your camera (or eyes) on the sky because you’ll start seeing UFOs! Yes, there are quite a lot of flying saucers that can be seen, and even accessed by the player, which is totally rad. The only downside of this: it’s impossible to drive them. Can you imagine how cool it would have been to cause chaos in the city aboard a flying saucer? I sure can!

9 8 Bodies

In Los Santos, during the 90s, eight male joggers were attacked by a serial offender. His name was Merle Abraham, A.K.A. the Infinity Killer. The victims’ bodies were never found by the police, but you can actually find them yourself (because you’re more intelligent than the Los Santos police, let’s be honest).

If you piece together the clues of the Infinity Murders, which you will find all throughout the city, you’ll eventually be led to the coast of Paleto Bay, which is all the way North. With your scuba equipment (because you’ll have to go deep into the water), you’ll have to dive around the archipelagos in order to find the bodies… and they are all wrapped in plastic! Let’s be honest, GTA V is really creepy, and this is only the tip of the iceberg!

8 Haunted Cemetery

Cemeteries are known to be creepy and sometimes haunted. It’s hard to believe, when you consider that nobody actually dies in there, but still, their reputation remains. Being in a place where dead people are buried does not help to convince society that they are safe, and this rumor was maybe exploited in GTA V. In Vinewood, players believe that a cemetery is actually haunted!

Their theory could be true, if we look at a few facts. When you’re close to this landmark at night, and it’s raining, you can hear noises that sound a lot like… voices. Now, it’s unclear whether the cemetery is really haunted or if this is some audio glitch, and Rockstar haven’t addressed this issue. Yet, it certainly got the players creeped out!

7 A Crazy Criminal Ghost Possesses You

Reddit is a fertile ground for conspiracy theories (and other things), and of course, those concerning GTA V can be found in abundance. One particularly interesting idea appeared in a forum, and it stated that, in fact, we only play as one character in the game. How come? Let me tell you.

It is believed that there is a ghost –a crazy, lunatic, murderous ghost- that possesses each character. And that ghost, is… the player! That is why, when we take over the characters, they dead stop what they were doing, only to disappear and create chaos. Can you imagine talking to Franklin, then he stops mid-sentence, runs in the street, gets hit by a car, gets back up and beats the driver before stealing the said car, only to drive on the streets and hit everyone on the sidewalks? Yeah, you’d probably believe he’s possessed by some demon!

6 1807

This one is not what I’d call entertaining. It’s a dark fact in GTA V, one you might be offended by, because it’s about a very sad event and an evil person that marked the American criminal history: Charles Manson and his victims.

In Vinewood, there is a red graffiti on a wall, “1807” with an arrow. If you follow this arrow, you’ll end up in front of a house that’s the replica of the one in which Manson —a cult leader who committed atrocities in the real world— lived. “1807” is an important number that represents Manson, because he shared his house with 18 women, and murdered seven people. Hopefully, the player cannot go inside of the house, but its existence in the game was enough to spark indignation in the community.

5 Trevor Will Haunt You

We’ve mentioned Trevor before in this list because I love him, and because he’s perfect. But beyond his amazing redneck self, Trevor is a very, very violent man with an unpredictable temper and a brutal personality. Now, imagine if he was a ghost, with all the powers they can get, and out to get you? Yeah, no thanks.

In GTA V, it’s possible for Trevor to end up dead. If that is the case, he’ll haunt you… But not too much. Hopefully. If you go to his trailer, after he’s left us, at 2 AM, it’s possible you’ll see his ghost. Or so have said a few players. According to the game’s Wiki Myths, the haunting lasts exactly one second, and the player’s character catches fire when he spots the ghost… Can this game get darker?

4 Cole Phelps’ Body

Rockstar is clearly into other-worldly stuff, if we consider how many ghosts and haunted locations we can find in GTA V. Another one of these spooky places is an abandoned mineshaft in the middle of the desert. It’s not easy to find, and will require that the player blows open the door with dynamite, but it’s worth touring for sure!

The mine is rumored to be haunted because the players hear footsteps all around the place, even while standing still, and during the day. Oh, and also, there’s a dead body of a man that looks to have been forgotten there since the 1940s. What’s terrifying, is that his clothes, and his face, eerily look like Cole Phelps’, the protagonist of L.A. Noire. Knowing that it’s possible all Rockstar games are in the same universe, it does make sense that we find another game’s protagonist dead in GTA V.

3 It Must Be The Illuminati

This is probably the most well-known conspiracy theory of GTA V. At the top of Mt. Chiliad, there is a hut. In it, you can find a huge map of the mountain, and what looks like secret chambers inside of it. Of course, there is an eye at the top of the drawing, reminiscent of the Illuminati eye. Because why not.

This map has got players running around the game, from one corner of the map to the other. Yet, no one has figured out what it means, much like the Ghost Girl in Pokémon X and Y. The most likely reason for the existence of this map, which some players have come to accept, is that it’s only a troll by Rockstar. If they wanted to plant a conspiracy theory in GTA V, they succeeded!

2 Racist Cops

When a YouTube video of GTA V showing Franklin being shot by police officers for no reason was uploaded, this theory was born. Being the only black character you can impersonate, Franklin seems to be the victim of racial profiling by Los Santos’ cops. The mentioned video shows him telling police officers that he hopes they keep him safe. The cops’ response? They shoot Franklin even when he puts his hands up and tries to run away.

Knowing that GTA V is a very realistic game, we can wonder if the police officers’ AI is programmed for them to attack black characters more, as a representation of a societal problem we know we have: racial profiling. It may be a way for Rockstar to denunciate this issue and take a stand against it by making players experiment what it’s like to be a victim of this.

1 John Marston: GTA’s Gengis Khan

You know Gengis Khan, right? He was the Mongolian emperor who conquered most of the known world during the Middle Ages. He is mostly remembered because he was unbeatable and terrorizing everyone on his path, but some might know him for another reason. Gengis Khan had so many lovers that it’s believed half of today’s population on Earth is related to him!

In the Rockstar universe, one character is a lil’ bit like Gengis Khan: John Marston. You see, the cowboy protagonist of Red Dead Redemption is believed to be the ancestors of all three characters of GTA V! If you consider that the three of them are of different nationalities, you can imagine how many descendants he has?! Maybe all of Los Santos is descending from Mr. Marston, but unless Rockstar addresses this theory, we can only speculate!