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Video game audiences tend to make up a ton of theories regarding the games they play. Any dangling plot threats, leaked or locked content, or character backgrounds left unattended becomes a cause for speculation, leading to various possible explanations provided by the fans themselves.
When theories start cropping up, one of two things might then happen. The most common direction that such events take is that these theories continue to linger in forums and online discussions yet never see confirmation.
However, in a rarer turn of events, sometimes these theories do end up being confirmed and recorded into canon. This might occur via a Twitter post by the developers or even by the end of the video game in question.
Here are five such times when video game fan theories have been confirmed to be true, along with five other instances that could still become canon in the future.
Note: This article reflects the writer's opinions.
5 video game fan theories that were confirmed
1) The Arkham Knight’s Identity - Batman: Arkham Knight
When marketing for the final Arkham video game started, fans were treated to a new villain in the series, The Arkham Knight, dressed like a more techy version of Batman himself. As Rocksteady was playing it close regarding this masked antagonist’s identity as an original DC character, many started theorizing as to who it could be.
A lot of options were weighed, with some saying it could be Hush who had previously appeared in the last game, while others went even deeper into comic lore, citing Thomas Wayne Jr., Bruce’s Wayne’s brother who eventually went on to become Owlman. One theory, though, had a lot more backing, which was Jason Todd, aka the second Robin, aka the Red Hood.
All of this stemmed from the Knight’s look and feel as well as his motivations in the trailers, which were very similar to Jason’s arc in the comics. Fans didn’t have to wait long, though, as when the game was released and featured hallucinations of Jason Todd as Robin, things were all but confirmed. To the point where by the time Arkham Knight took off his mask, it was not even a surprise for a lot of players.
2) Nuclear Disarmament - Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
The Metal Gear Series by Hideo Kojima has always been known for ingenious and innovative use of gameplay (or sometimes the lack thereof) to let players enjoy video games intuitively. And so when data-miners found an unlockable cutscene that could be triggered in the video game, people got to work.
While no one managed to unlock the cutscene by themselves, one prevailing theory that fans had was that each player had to get rid of their nukes in the multiplayer. Now, nukes are some of the strongest weapons in the game, difficult to acquire and harder to destroy. So while this was a theory, it seemed like a far-fetched one.
However, Konami went on to confirm that this was indeed the case, as only if all the players in multiplayer got rid of their nukes the game’s hidden cutscene would play. They went so far as to keep a tally of all active and disarmed nukes across the multiplayer board, however, it never came to fruition. As a sad mirror to the real world, players were simply unwilling to let go of their most powerful weapon against other players.
3) Egg People - Rocket League
Rocket League is a fun multiplayer video game that involves players driving cars across a large football field and scoring goals by maneuvering or hitting the ball into the opponent’s net. As far as concepts go, it’s a pretty fun one, which sees many players continue to compete in this online video game.
However, if one were to look at the stands in these games, they would not see humans cheering them on, instead what seemed to be egg-like creatures of various colors were the primary spectators. When it was first brought to light, fans jokingly theorized that the world of Rocket League was only populated with sentient brightly colored Egg-People.
It was only later when developer Psyonix posted a promotional poster highlighting these egg-people, who were apparently also the ones driving the cars in the game. This confirms that Rocket League is set in a world where sentient colored eggs are the dominant species of the planet and they somehow drive cars and take part in extreme sports despite having no arms to speak of.
4) Symmetra’s backstory - Overwatch
Since Symmetra first arrived in Overwatch, people were quick to notice her character traits and personality. While she is an architect, she also relies on the order of a daily routine to keep herself centered and has some difficulty in getting around other people’s points of view.
As Overwatch is pretty generous with its representation of characters across various communities, fans were already theorizing that she might be a representative of an autistic personality in the video game. This was further supported by the tie-in comic, which mentioned her as being “on the spectrum.”
This theory was eventually confirmed by game director Jeff Kaplan, who noted that fans were smart to pick up on the various queues and that Symmetra was indeed autistic. This was eventually a great step forward in the way of representing neurodivergent people in video game media.
5) Atriox lives - Halo: Infinite
When it was first announced that fan-favorite character Atriox from the Halo Wars video games would be going head-to-head with the Master Chief in Halo: Infinite, the protagonist from the main series, fans were equally hyped as well as a bit hesitant.
No one really wanted to see Atriox die, so it was unclear as to how he would survive against the Master Chief. The critical consensus by many was that Chief would probably battle Atriox, but he would not be killed off by the end of the game, as he was too interesting a character. Yet when the game starts in earnest, he is seemingly already dead, with the Chief having nothing to do with it.
Many fans would probably have been upset by this development, as such a fan-favorite character was killed off-screen. However, in the game’s post-credits scene, Atriox shows up again, whole and hearty, and possibly appearing in future installments. Despite being mistaken with the finer details, fans were eventually right with their theory.
5 video game fan theories that might still be confirmed in the future
1) Gwyn’s Firstborn - Dark Souls & Dark Souls 3
In Dark Souls, Gwyn is the first Lord of Cinder, who linked the flames in the beginning and was the Lord of Sunlight. Amongst his progeny, he had two daughters and a son, seen throughout the series. However, in the first video game, there is a statue of another son of Gwyn, which is broken and left to ruin. This was Gwyn’s firstborn.
In the third video game of the series, players can visit the optional area of Archdragon Peak, atop which lies one of the toughest optional bosses: The Nameless King. His attire is quite similar to Gwyn’s design and he carries a unique weapon in the form of a sword-spear.
Many in the community believe this to be Gwyn’s disowned first born son, and a few things do support the claims. The Nameless King’s weapon bears a striking resemblance to the broken statue found in Dark Souls. He also uses the same lightning attack utilized by Gwyn, which he would have inherited if he was the first born son.
Finally, his attachment to dragons is cited as the reason why he abandoned his own kind, instead choosing to side with the drake, who were mortal enemies to Gwyn and his kind.
2) GLaDOS is Chell’s Mum - Portal
Portal video games don’t really have many human characters in them. After all, Chell, the protagonist, is the only human character that exists in the gameplay, while GLaDOS and Wheatley in Portal 2 are both AI personality cores.
Yet these AI cores have to be created from the brain map of an existing human. In addition to this, throughout the game, players got to know that the founder of Aperture Science (the facility Chell is stuck inside) was Cave Johnson, who was quite close to his assistant Caroline, who is the human whose brain was used to create GLaDOS.
With the events of Portal 2, GLaDOS is in a much less murderous mood and even treats Chell to an opera via robot drones. Here, the lyrics refer to Chell as "cara mia," which means my beloved. She even defended Chell from Wheatley at one point, and in the closing song for the game, GLaDOS mentions Caroline as being a lot like Chell.
3) The Rockstar games share the same timeline
An ongoing theory amongst fans of Rockstar Games is that most of their video games take place in the same world and timeline. This includes the GTA series, Red Dead Redemption, Manhunt, Bully, and LA. Noire. Through various clues and hints through different games, this theory was built, although it has not yet been officially confirmed.
These instances include John Marston’s hat, which can be found in a dumpster in L.A. Noire, a book by J. Marston that can be found in GTA 5, and a mention of Carson City, the setting of Manhunt, in GTA 5. Bully’s Bullworth Academy also made a brief cameo on a TV show in GTA IV.
Another more credible Easter egg connects the GTA and Red Dead Series directly with the secret cult worshipping UFOs. It shows up around the hippie camp in GTA V with murals of aliens in various symbols. Flying up to the highest possible height near Sandy Shores will mean players can see a real live UFO hovering in the air. In Red Dead Redemption 2, the same can be viewed twice, once in an abandoned shack full of dead cultists and again from Mount Sham.
4) Booker Dewitt is the Songbird - Bioshock: Infinite
In Bioshock: Infinite, players play as Booker DeWitt, who is the primary protagonist as well as the primary antagonist in the form of Zachary Hale Comstock. This was a shocking revelation delivered towards the end of the video game, which flipped the script for most players.
However, the game also features a second antagonist in the form of Songbird, who is the jailer of Elizabeth, the girl Booker is sent to the rescue. Once the rescue is underway, Songbird makes its first appearance and follows the duo for a large part of the game. Despite its appearance, though, the Songbird is partly human, being somewhat like a biomechanical hybrid.
The theory that the Songbird is another Booker from a different universe, similar to Comstock, is supported by the fact that despite its relentless nature, the Songbird only wanted to keep Elizabeth safe in her tower. Furthermore, one key point to note is that all 3 of these individuals die via drowning in the game.
5) Shepard was being indoctrinated - Mass Effect 3
The reapers in the Mass Effect trilogy are giant sentient AI creatures that wish to remove all organic lifeforms from the galaxy. They also possess the ability to influence and control the minds of other organic and synthetic lifeforms to make them see their point of view in a process known as indoctrination.
Mass Effect 3 protagonist Commander Shepard is constantly being haunted by the memory of a small child he presumably failed to save at the beginning of the game. Plagued by these visions throughout different parts of the story, when Shepard finally faces the Reaper AI in a final confrontation, it takes the shape of the same child.
This has led many fans to believe that this was basically the Reapers indoctrinating Shepard throughout the game, which would mean that the three choices posed at the end of the game were arbitrary and that the Reapers would have won no matter what they did. Since a new Mass Effect video game is due to arrive in the future, there is a possibility for this to be confirmed.
