A Wild New Speedrun Skip in GTA: San Andreas Uncovered
A wild new speedrunning skip has emerged in the original PC version of GTA: San Andreas, which, believe it or not, released over 21 years ago. When it comes to an iconic title like San Andreas, it’s no surprise that players have uncovered countless glitches, tricks, and convoluted skips over the years. But just this week, speedrunners discovered a jaw-dropping 30-step skip that allows players to blast through the game in under an hour.
As Redditor Vitosi4ek explains, this skip, known as the Arbitrary Jump in Script (AJS) skip, opened a whole new world for the Windows Store remaster a couple of years back. Detailing the skip sounds like something out of a fever dream since it revolves around executing “an extremely precise and illogical-sounding sequence of actions,” which culminates in speedrunners jumping straight to the very end of the game.
This isn’t the first time the AJS skip made waves; less than a year ago, a different AJS skip was discovered in the Definitive Edition of GTA: San Andreas, involving another set of seemingly nonsensical steps. Both AJS skips have significantly impacted the speedrunning community, leading to the creation of separate categories: any% and any% no AJS.
Now, the latest AJS skip has been found in the original PC port of San Andreas, and the full step-by-step guide shared on Reddit is downright bonkers. It includes winning $10,000 through horse betting, duplicating the main script, intentionally sinking a bike in a lake eight times, and breaking the game to the point where the world turns into a “black void.” And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
Thanks to this latest AJS skip, speedrunner creezyful has managed to clock an astounding any% run of just 53 minutes and 46 seconds (good spot, IGN), but it’s likely that this record will be broken again soon as more players delve into the intricacies of the skip.
In related news, former Xbox boss has noted that GTA: San Andreas, along with its infamous NSFW Hot Coffee minigame, “signified a maturing of the industry” and brought video games “on par with movies and music.”