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GTA Online's Alien Gang War Is Rapidly Escalating

Everyone's either green, purple, or caught in the crossfire.

This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.

Jump into a GTA Online server right now, and you're likely to be met with a lot of players in green and purple alien suits. Unless you're flying similar colors, you might want to avoid them.

There's currently a gang war going on in GTA Online, centered around two alien gangs. What started as a few meme videos in GTA Online has rapidly escalated over the course of days to encapsulate GTA Online, pitting purple against green and inviting a number of sub-factions into the fray.

Our Galactic Invasion Continues from r/Intergalactics

We Do (Not) Come in Peace

As best I can tell, it started up earlier this week when gangs of players wearing the green alien suit started attacking unsuspecting players. The set-up was simple: they'd either wait around a corner, roll up in a van, or set up an ambush like the Reddit video post below in order to beat some poor sap to death with blunt instruments.

The crew soon started to assemble in places like the Intergalactics, organizing meetups and rules to the chaos. A Discord server emerged, and regular GTA Online players were lamenting the alien takeover. It could've easily stopped with just roving gangs of green aliens beating down random passers-by, appearing during the occasional car show or stroll through Los Santos.

I don't support ruining car shows, but this reveal was hella funny from r/gtaonline

But then the purple gang emerged.

Intergalactic Turf War

Crews of aliens started causing havoc, but this time rather than green, these intergalactic hooligans were donning purple. The purple gang rose up as a counter to the green gang; soon members were fighting in the streets and kidnapping each other.

The action spread out to social media as well. TikTok videos were racking up views, leading more players to get involved in the alien gang war. It didn't take long for other sub-factions to emerge, either. Players donning Men in Black-style suits have started fighting aliens. I've seen reports of other alien colors as well, though purple and green remain dominant, as well as a faction of "space rangers."

While the instruments of warfare have been up to debate-some think only blunt instruments should be used, while others are pulling guns and sharp melee weapons-now it seems like Rockstar is throwing fuel on the fire.

Kidnapping a purple gang from r/gtaonline

The Grand Theft Auto developer recently put a 40% discount on laser weapons, which seems like a sly wink towards the gang war erupting across Los Santos right now. As the two major gangs fight it out and pick up even heavier weaponry, this seems to have started a new age in the evolving emergent story of GTA Online.

For what it's worth though, players seem mostly into it. What could've just started as a griefing campaign has become a fun meta-narrative for players to share. It's just easy enough to understand, yet has been open to some really creative twists. With everyone staying indoors, a rapidly escalating alien gang war seems like just what was needed for a nice distraction.

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