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Grand Theft Auto 5's community just solved a Bigfoot-sized secret

It's a beast.

Years after release, Grand Theft Auto 5 fans have uncovered a new secret about the game.

This mystery was solved by a team of 20 players working together to scan through the game's code, as Rockstar developers played a cat-and-mouse game with fans.

The hunt began last year with the find of a golden peyote plant, a special form of the hallucinogenic herb which causes players to trip out. Munching on this turned players into a superpowered Bigfoot.

But there was more - the game's code hinted at another secret.

Kotaku has a great round-up of what happened next, but it boils down to players having to scan through changes whenever GTA was updated for details on where to look for six other golden peyotes, all of which must be eaten on specific days at specific times and during specific weather conditions.

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It's practically impossible for these conditions to be met during regular play, so the only way to progress was by editing the game's world state.

And communication wasn't just kept to fans. Rockstar left a couple of clues along the way, and only added in the other plants once the community was getting close.

The result? A dogged battle to chase down and defeat The Beast, a character based on Michael J. Fox's Teen Wolf. Beat him, and you get the skin for use in the game's Director Mode.