Rockstar's established a pedigree as one of the greatest video game developers of all time, and their Grand Theft Auto series is probably the biggest contributor to this esteemed status they hold in the gaming community. Since its humble beginnings back in 1997, Grand Theft Auto has quickly developed into one of the premier gaming franchises for the past 20 years by developing in accordance with modern technology and providing an experience that various other developers have tried to emulate time and time again, with varying levels of success. However, there's no beating the original, and the amount of time and work put into fleshing out each and every title of this series is absolutely commendable.
However, even with the insane levels of attention to detail that Rockstar has put into each iteration of the franchise, there are still some glaring mistakes and unintentional additions that are present in pretty much every game in the franchise which have piqued the interests of many nitpicky players, and rightfully so. After all, their existence in the franchise itself is highly questionable to begin with, when the Grand Theft Auto series always boasts impressive levels of polish in their games. Some of these elements are so embarrassing that we wouldn't be surprised if Rockstar wished that these unfortunate additions hadn't been uncovered to begin with. Here are 15 unintentional secrets in the Grand Theft Auto franchise that the creators want to bury forever.
15 An Exploit That Gives You Infinite Money (GTA V)
Grand Theft Auto V is a game rife with opportunities to earn money, but most of these opportunities appear later on in the game. Before unlocking these lucrative methods, gamers need to make do with limited funds and crappy guns, which can be quite a pain. In order to get around this problem, you can utilize an exploit that will help you earn bucketloads of money from an unlimited source.
Along the west coast of Los Santos, there's a hidden package near a sunken airplane. Get one character to pick up this package, and then quickly switch to one character and then back to the one who's underwater. His breath will be replenished, and the package will come back again. Repeat this as many times as you wish until you've had your fill of the moolah.
14 The Hot Coffee Minigame That Was Meant To Be Taken Out (GTA: San Andreas)
The Hot Coffee controversy is perhaps the most infamous controversy associated with the Grand Theft Auto franchise. The concept of simulating "adult activities" in a game that a lot of kids also played at the time sent both the media and parents into a frenzy — even though the program was actually hidden in the game files, and modders were the ones who managed to uncover this hidden minigame.
To think that this entire debacle could've been avoided had Rockstar been diligent enough to remove the program altogether from the game, instead of being lazy and just removing the trigger that would start this rather painful sequence. It's a mistake that is surely haunting Rockstar even to this day.
13 A Hidden Interiors Universe You Weren't Meant To Access (GTA: San Andreas)
In San Andreas, the various interiors scattered throughout the game are actually placed in an area far above the height limit, making it impossible for planes to reach the hidden interiors universe (the unofficial moniker of this plane of existence). However, there are multiple ways to access this universe, making it all the easier to warp to wherever you want in the game.
One such way to enter this area is by visiting the Ganton Gym, killing all the NPCs there and then using a jetpack to fly through a glitched section of the wall to access the universe. While roaming around, you can enter a specific area which gives you access to all of the interiors in the game, including the rooms that were cut from the final game.
12 Land Safely While Using The Skyfall Cheat (GTA V)
The Grand Theft Auto series is known for including a bunch of cheats that are extremely fun to use and provide endless ways to experiment with various game mechanics using these gameplay modifiers. The latest iteration in the series is no different, and contains a bunch of useful cheats that can be a huge help in certain situations.
The Skyfall Cheat is a pretty novel one, since it lets you respawn anywhere in the sky and roam wherever you wish... until you meet the ground and die in the most painful manner possible. However, there's a way to make sure that you don't die even after free falling god knows how many feet back to the ground. All you need to do to make sure that your character remains safe is to do a vertical faceplant as you die, negating any damage that could've been inflicted.
11 Reach The Ghost Town Shown At The Beginning Of The Game (GTA III)
The first cutscene you see at the beginning of Grand Theft Auto III actually takes place in an area that cannot be visited in the main game. At least, this is what Rockstar wished for most players to believe, since reaching this place is very much possible — as long as you have access to the Dodo.
Once you fly the Dodo all the way to this Ghost Town, you'll realize that the place has no collision detection whatsoever. You can fly through these empty textures with no problem at all, although there is the occasional solid object that will send your Dodo crashing down into the ocean, making you watch helplessly as Claude drowns in the middle of nowhere.
10 The Sliding Glitch Which Makes Your Movement While Shooting Faster (GTA: San Andreas)
The glitch being discussed here is a favourite of speedrunners, who absolutely zoom past this game while using this particular exploit. Hell, even if you're not a speed runner it's still a nice idea to use this cheat since it lets you move way faster than normal while aiming, letting you breeze past the major shootouts of the game.
In order to pull off this helpful glitch, you need to get your timing right with the in-game movements that trigger it. Specifically, you need to move in a crouched position, then get back up and quickly aim your weapon. If done right, CJ will start 'sliding,' and you'll get through most firefights much faster that before.
9 Lower Wanted Level Without Using Any Cheats (GTA III)
The option to initiate a replay of your previous actions in the 3D Universe Grand Theft Auto games is quite odd, since barely any players knew about this feature, let alone use it. However, we're still glad that this feature was implemented in these games... although for completely different reasons than what Rockstar intended.
Take the example of Grand Theft Auto III. There are various 'bribe' tokens (floating icons with the police badge on them) that reduce one star when you pick them while you're wanted. However, if you save a replay while you're on them, you can play said replay when you're being chased by the cops over and over again, easily reducing all the stars you've accumulated in the process.
There's another game, where there's a similar exploit done through replays...
8 Purchase Assets For Free (GTA: Vice City)
There are a ton of properties scattered around Vice City, and honestly speaking it's highly recommended that the player buy each and every one of them, since a lot of content is locked behind the purchase of most assets. This might not be feasible due to the amount of cash required to do so, but don't fret — there's a simple exploit to let you buy these assets for free.
To perform this exploit, make sure that you have the money required to buy the asset of your choice (don't worry, you won't be spending a single dime of it). Walk over the asset icon until the prompt to purchase it appears. As soon as this happens, hit the instant replay button, and when the replay finishes you need to quickly press the confirm button. If done correctly, you'll have purchased the asset for free!
7 Use The Impound Garage To Store Large Vehicles (GTA: San Andreas)
Each police station in San Andreas has an impound garage that houses the cars or motorcycles you were driving when you got busted. The only way to enter this garage and not get a wanted level is by using a law enforcement vehicle to open the garage door. Make sure that you use said vehicle to keep the garage door propped open if you wish to take advantage of this particular exploit.
What Rockstar failed to account for is the ingenuity of players, who realized that due to the sheer size of the impound garage, you can store a ton of vehicles inside for later use. This includes the Hydra plane, which is extremely powerful, especially in the early stages of the game.
6 A Secret Site Which Shows The Location Of Useful Items (GTA IV)
Grand Theft Auto IV contains a site whose link is provided to you after you complete the game. The site — whattheydontwantyoutoknow.com — is supposed to be a parody of a real-life website, and the information contained on this site can be accessed at any point in the game, which in turn can prove to be a huge benefit.
Not only does the site have all the cheats you can use on your mobile phone, but it also contains 'user submissions' in the form of maps that have a ton of useful information, including rare goodies that can make the game deceptively easy. The only negative associated with this hub of information is the stupidly long URL, which is a pain to type on the in-game keyboard.
5 Control A Headless Model Of CJ That Constantly Spurts Blood (GTA: San Andreas)
This one is for the particularly sick and twisted people who like to see blood at all times — even if it might be the player they control in a game that's almost a decade old. San Andreas boasts a two-player mode that can provide a whole new experience, but the focus of this entry is the method to get a headless CJ through the usage of this two-player mode.
In order to do this, the second player needs to get a katana and cut CJ's head off (who is obviously being controlled by the first player). Once the game comes back to normal, CJ will still have his head chopped off, with blood spurting everywhere. Quite a funny glitch, and certainly not something Rockstar intended to be in the main game.
4 A Ghost Car That Spawns Out Of Nowhere In The Woods (GTA: San Andreas)
The myth of a Bigfoot creature in San Andreas has pretty much been told to death (and debunked as well). However, there is one particular instance that happens when you're alone in the woods that's pretty creepy — sometimes, while wandering the woods a car will appear out of nowhere and move towards the player. However, there's no one driving the car, making it a pretty odd sight a gamer can witness in-game.
It turns out that the game actually spawns a car for you since it assumes you're stuck in the middle of nowhere with no transportation whatsoever. So it's not a ghost car at all — it's just an oversight on Rockstar's part that they hoped you wouldn't notice.
3 Easily Steal The P-996 Lazer Jet Fighter Plane From The Restricted Military Base (GTA V)
The P-996 Lazer Jet Fighter is a great fighter place that is an absolute riot to control... assuming that you manage to get it out of the military base in time before the alarm rings and you get blown to smithereens. However, there's an easy way to get this plane with Franklin and his special ability.
In order to pull this off, use Franklin's special the moment you break into the base and keep it triggered for as long as possible while you take the shortest route possible towards the jet. Once you reach the jet, you should be able to take off without raising the alarm, making you look like an absolute boss.
2 Cover The Whole Map In Gang Territories (GTA: San Andreas)
Well, this has to be one of the weirdest glitches in any Grand Theft Auto game ever, and certainly not what the developers could've imagined in their wildest dreams. If you love the idea of waging gang wars, then there's a way for you to convert the entire San Andreas map into one huge gang territory.
Take control of a plane and drive it all the way to the game's boundaries. Sit tight, since you'll need to fly outside the boundaries for more than 12 in-game hours. Once this is done, just fall out of the plane and drown yourself. Once you respawn, the entire map should be covered in gang territories. It's a pretty crazy revelation — and it's a lot of fun to see!
1 The Idea For The Grand Theft Auto Games Came From A Glitch In A Racing Game Prototype
For what is pretty much their magnum opus, it's pretty weird that the idea of a Grand Theft Auto game actually came from a rather tame glitch that happened in a freaking racing game of all things.
Rockstar was initially working on a street racing game called Race'n'Chase. Due to a bug in the AI, the police wouldn't simply chase the player; they'd ram him off of the road every single time. This gave Rockstar the basic idea to form a game centered around this mechanic, which over time developed into the Grand Theft Auto series we all know and love. Quite jarring to think that the idea for this legendary franchise actually came from a bug in a racing game of all things.