Many fans are returning to GTA 5 as delays continue to push GTA 6 further away. The game may be old, but it still delivers that familiar Grand Theft Auto rush. And sometimes, going back brings surprising moments. That’s what happened when a player bought a pre-owned PS3 copy and found a forgotten treasure inside.
Tucked between the manual and the disc was an untouched Atomic Blimp promotion card. It had been sitting there since 2013. The metallic scratch-off panel was still sealed. The code was never used. For longtime players, it felt like a time machine.
Reddit user shayanrl shared the discovery on r/GTA. They posted a photo with the caption, “bought a preowned copy of gta v on the ps3 today. look what i found!” The card looked brand new, almost as if it had been placed there yesterday. “brings me back to 2014 honestly,” they added. And that sentiment hit home for many fans.
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A Rare GTA 5 Pre-Order Bonus Appears Again
The Atomic Blimp holds a special place in GTA 5’s history. It was one of the main pre-order bonuses when the game launched. Players who redeemed the code could summon a slow-moving, massive blimp and fly it anywhere over Los Santos. It wasn’t fast. It wasn’t efficient. But it was iconic.
The blimp became a fun way to enjoy the world from above. Many used it for sightseeing. Others used it for goofy challenges and air stunts. It was never meant to be the best vehicle. It was meant to be memorable. And it was.
So finding an unused blimp code more than a decade later felt almost unreal. Fans flooded the comment section with stories from the game’s early days. Some remembered standing in long launch-day lines. Others talked about losing their own promo codes during childhood moves. One user said the bonus was “so weird” because the blimp moved painfully slow. Another joked that finishing the whole game using only the blimp might actually take until the release of GTA 6.
Did the Player Redeem the Code?
Surprisingly, shayanrl didn’t use it. They left it untouched. In the photo, you can even see a PS5 in the background. The code became more of a keepsake than a reward. A little piece of GTA history.
The community wondered if the code would even work today. Some older GTA 5 codes still redeem successfully on PS3. Others don’t. There’s no guarantee after so many years. That uncertainty made the find even more interesting.
A Reminder of How Much GTA 5 Still Means
Moments like this show how deeply GTA 5 is woven into gaming culture. Even after more than ten years, people are still finding hidden surprises. Players continue to explore Los Santos, uncover old Easter eggs, revisit missions, and share nostalgic memories. GTA 5 has aged, but it has aged well.
As the community looks back, it also looks forward. Rockstar recently shifted the release window for GTA 6 to November 2026. The excitement is high, even with the delays. The next chapter returns players to Vice City, now placed within Leonida County, a fictional take on Florida. The story centers on Jason and Lucia, two characters caught in a tense, dramatic partnership.
Fans expect a massive world, deeper storytelling, and a modern spin on the classic Vice City feel. Until then, GTA 5 remains the go-to place for causing mayhem, exploring, and revisiting old memories. And as this blimp-code discovery proves, the game still has tiny surprises tucked away in unexpected places.
Some players revisit GTA 5 for nostalgia. Others return for fun. But everyone seems to agree on one thing: the game still has magic left in it. And now, a forgotten promo card from 2013 has become one more reminder of how much the series has meant to people over the years.
