Newly-revealed GTA Online update includes a nod to Vice City and GTA 6

Grand Theft Auto Online continues to astound – 11 years on, it’s still remarkably popular and getting two big content updates per year. Rockstar has just unveiled the next GTA Online update that arrives in a few days’ time, but buried within its artwork is a subtle nod to GTA Vice City, which is of course getting reimagined in the upcoming GTA 6.

After already enjoying the Bottom Dollar Bounties update in the summer, Rockstar’s winter update for GTA Online is now just around the corner. Titled Agents of Sabotage, you’ll be working closely with Jodi Marshall, a former FIB operative with a score to settle with her former handlers. You’ll also be reunited with eccentric Russian submariner Pavel, who you first encountered back in the crime game’s Cayo Perico Heist. “Together, you’ll utilize the latest clandestine tech to zero in on some of the city’s preeminent scores,” Rockstar says.

Agents of Sabotage will also see you plotting from within one of the GTA 5 campaign’s most iconic and significant locations – the Darnell Bros Garment Factory. The new trailer for the update also shows plenty of new vehicles, including a disgracefully cool police car and a tank with a laser gun mounted on it. It sounds like Agents of Sabotage is going for the perfect blend of old and new in what is likely one of the final updates this iteration of GTA Online will get before the GTA 6 release date arrives next year.

Speaking of GTA 6, the artwork for Agents of Sabotage actually contains a bit of an easter egg for the upcoming behemoth. Now, this one isn’t quite as conspiratorial as all of those moon theories – it’s a pretty clear reference to Vice City, which we’ll head back to in GTA 6. As was spotted by ‘TGG’ on social media, on the desk in the top right image of the official artwork is a small green and gold statue. Without a doubt, this is a Hidden Package collectible from GTA Vice City.

In the 2002 game, there were 100 Hidden Packages scattered around the map that would contain some cash. With every ten that you collected, you’d also get access to desirable weapons like the Minigun and vehicles like the Hunter attack helicopter which would spawn at certain locations.

Maybe this is a hint that the GTA 6 map will also be filled with these little green statues to find? Maybe it’s just a small nod to keep fans talking about the old game and Rockstar’s next project? Whatever the reason, it’s a fun and direct Vice City easter egg, and hopefully it’s not the only one buried within the new GTA Online update.

GTA Online Agents of Sabotage goes live on Tuesday, December 10.

For more on GTA 6 ahead of launch, head on over to GTA Db. Alternatively, here are some other incredible open-world games that can get you in the mood.

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