A newly uncovered detail in Red Dead Redemption 2 has Rockstar fans convinced the studio may have been teasing Grand Theft Auto 6 for years.
Sleuths recently discovered an unused in-game asset containing a name that closely matches GTA 6’s confirmed setting, sparking theories that Rockstar planted the reference as early as 2018, long before the highly anticipated sequel's Nov. 19, 2026, release.
What RDR2's "The Leonida" could mean for GTA 6
Last week, Red Dead Redemption 2 fans found yet another secret hidden within the popular game. According to GameRoll on X, sleuths discovered a "partially unused boat texture" that includes several potential ship names.
The one that stands out to GTA fans is "The Leonida."
GTA 6 will be set in Vice City within the State of Leonida—a stand-in for Florida. Those who recognized the connection were quick to speculate that developers meant to tease the upcoming title with the ship name a full eight years before GTA 6 would come out.
Of course, the game has been delayed so many times that they may have assumed it would release much sooner. There are also other possible explanations.
"It appears as if Rockstar might’ve initially intended to tease GTA 6 in RDR2? Either that, or this was where they got the inspiration for the name from," said @GameRoll_. "I think either scenario is just as likely."
This is the biggest discovery found in RDR2 since the mysterious spiderweb quest Easter egg was unearthed in late 2025. The world may actually get GTA 6 before this game stops delivering new mysteries.
Easter egg, or dev leftover?
Rockstar fans flooded GameRoll's comments with their own theories about The Leonida. Some believe, based on the publisher's reputation, that the ship name was indeed meant to tease GTA 6.
"Leonida feels like such an original name & the inspiration being taken from Juan Ponce de León is such a Rockstar thing to do, so I'm leaning towards the former, this was a GTA VI reference," wrote @374_Karim.
"I'm pretty sure a few years ago someone saw code seemingly for a parachute in one of the updates for RDR2 PC which is most likely from GTA VI," @FriendlyAaron1 pointed out.
"Also IIRC, the GTA VC PC port also contained some stuff from San Andreas as they were working on both at the same time."
Others had alternate theories based on what they know about game development.
"It's because they forked out an earlier build of rdr2 and built off of it," claimed @jayisboring. "This is common in game development because who wants to waste time building games from scratch."
Regardless, Rockstar continues to impress its fans.
"This Is Actually AWSOME!!!" wrote @AIKO_2SK.
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