GTA 5: Heists February release rumour stems from nowhere
Whispers get out of hand as anticipation for GTA Online's Heists DLC grows.
"I'm pretty sure that when people see info such as a release date for a highly anticipated game, they grab a screenshot and share it. It's become second nature to anyone raised on the internet."
We love a good rumour, especially when it's accompanied by an undeniable amount of screenshots and other info to back it up. But it seems the anticipation for a solid release date for GTA Online's Heists has gotten out of control.
The latest talk suggests Heists will be available to download on February 24. We're big fans of GTA on VG247, so we jumped on the chatter to try and trace it back to a source. It turns out there is no source.
Our starting point, as turned up via Google, is The Express, the online website of the UK's Daily and Sunday Express newspaper. My nan used to read The Express, bless her.
Anyway, here's what The Express had to say: "Rumours have surfaced online this week that the beginning of production for the GTA Online DLC in the PlayStation store was listed that it would be accessible February 24, 2015 onwards."
I'm not entirely sure what "the beginning of production for the GTA Online DLC" means (or the structure of that sentence) but there's no link in the story to any rumour or screenshot of the alleged info on the PlayStation Store. It's a dead end.
Next up on Google search is GospelHerald.com, which annoyingly auto-plays a video of a Christian rock band and I can't find the mute button.
GospelHerald has the same info as The Express, namely a "listing on the PlayStation store" but at least it links to a source - 4chan.
Apart from that's not a link to 4chan, but to the International Business Times, which has the same rumour and links to Chinatopix and Kdramastars, both of which suggest the info is from a site, or something, called Cyberland. Again, there's no link.
That's because "Cyberland" is either a gaming news site, a forum poster, or a collective term for some random people on the internet. Or it's just made up gossip that you attribute to "Cyberland" like you would say "I read it on the internet somewhere". Cyberland is a default myth for weak reporting. Cyberland doesn't really exist. Cyberland is your mate's uncle who works at Rockstar.
"Cyberland is a default myth for weak reporting. Cyberland is your mate's uncle who works at Rockstar."
Search for "GTA Heists 4chan" and you'll just get in horrible a mess. According to some posters on 4chan, yesterday's scheduled maintenance was "100%" confirmation that Heists would be released imminently. That didn't happen either.
Regardless of what you think of 4chan and its users, I'm pretty sure that when people see info such as a release date for a highly anticipated game, they grab a screenshot. Whether using their mobile phone or the handy Share button on the PS4, it's become second nature to anyone raised on the internet. Because it brings fleeting internet fame at the very least, or outs genuine information to like-minded gamers.
I'm not slagging off other websites or their reporting methods here, god knows, I've made something out of nothing before. And I appreciate different sites have different audiences and ways to reach them. I just find it fascinating that stories like this develop a life of their own from literally nothing. Try to follow a source and you end up on a website that overlays a video of a man trying to sell you kitchen knives. You'll never get that time back.
Here's what we do know about GTA Online Heists - the DLC will be released for free some time before the PC version of GTA 5 on March 24.
Heists will be available for all formats, and you can check out details of the type of Heists and their structure here.
Maybe Heists will release on February 24. You never know.