Inside Lester Crest's house, there is a box labeled "Zombie Outbreaks." On the side of the box is a sticker that says "Live Long" with the iconic Vulcan salute, referencing the famous Star Trek quote "Live long and Prosper."

The "Yeti" clothing brand is based on the Japanese clothing brand "A Bathing Ape", also known as "Bape". The logos that appear on the branded items reference the Japanese brand, in combination with the infamous "bigfoot" rumors that spread around the release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

The museum called Bishop's WTF?! on Hollywood Boulevard and North Highland Avenue is a parody of the real life museum Ripley's Believe it or Not!

It is possible to visit Ludendorff, North Yankton in GTA Online by glitching the game. If another player invites you to their game during the game's first mission the area can be found floating in the South-East part of the map and is traversable by the players.

The store name "SUPERSONIC - The Ultra Fast Ring Specialist" is most likely a reference to Sonic The Hedgehog.

During the missions in which the player Spoiler:steals cars for Devin, the garage in which the cars must be delivered to has a list of cars that Devin wishes to be obtained, written in UV pen. This is a reference to the film, Gone in 60 Seconds, in which the same tactic is used to cover up the team's act of stealing cars.

In the mission "Derailed", the player must jump a dirtbike off a ramp and land on top of a train. One of the gold medal objectives, titled "Better than CJ", requires the player to make the jump using the first of several ramps.

This objective is a reference to the mission "Wrong Side of the Tracks" in GTA: San Andreas, where Carl Johnson (CJ), must chase a train on a dirtbike. One way of beating the mission is to drive up a series of ramps, and jump onto the train. The mission is notoriously difficult, and Big Smoke's line upon failing it became an internet meme: "All we had to do, was follow the damn train, CJ!"

During the prologue in which the player has to escape from the police after robbing a bank, by veering off the road and onto the frozen stream, it's possible to look under the bridge and find an alien frozen under the ice.

The Z-Type gang car used by the Zaibatsu Corporation from Grand Theft Auto 2, appears in the mission "Eye in the Sky". In it, Spoiler:Franklin and Treavor must retrieve one for Devin Weston which has been hidden by a man named Chad Mulligan. The car can also be bought from legendarymotorsport.net for $10,000,000.

Toni, the radio DJ for Flash FM in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Flashback FM in Grand Theft Auto III, appears on a billboard for the Vinewood Sports LS store.

One of the textures for trash spread around the city contains a newspaper extract with the words "Narwal? Bacon?" written prominently as a headline for an article. This is a reference to the website Reddit, which created the phrase "The Narwhal Bacons at Midnight" as something users of the site can say in public to identify themselves as users of the site.

In the short film, "Capolavoro", that can be seen in some of the movie theaters, you can see the "Heart of Liberty" easter egg from Grand Theft Auto IV, in addition to some random clips from GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption.

When switching to Trevor, there is a random chance that Trevor will be driving down the highway on a scooter chasing somebody else on a scooter, while yelling "We are scooter brothers!" This is a reference to a popular Grand Theft Auto IV video with the same premise. Trevor will even continue to quote the video if he continues to drive near him.

Lester's house contains a number of action figures, including parodies of Master Chief from Halo, and Superman. These are Impotent Rage, a superhero from an in-game cartoon series, and a Republican Space Ranger from another in-game cartoon series.

North West of Fort Zancudo is a UFO in the sky that can only be accessed by helicopter. It is motionless and doesn't move. Approaching the UFO will make a loud screeching noise, and all power will be cut from your vehicle.

Early on in the game, Franklin can be seen walking past a building daubed with gangland graffiti that pays homage to Grove Street and the Grove Street Family. Three gangsters dressed in green, the color of the gang, stand by while an image of a skull wearing a green rag over its mouth adorns the wall with the message "Welcome back. We missed you last time.", welcoming players back to the city of San Andreas from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Early in the game, Lester refers to an Eastern-European man living in Liberty City who went quiet. The man in question is Niko from Grand Theft Auto IV. This could mean that he is either dead, or gave up crime.

In the Chiliad Mountain State Wilderness is a scene in which a drug deal has gone bad. Down a slope is a briefcase and a man telling the player to stay away from the case. Grabbing the case (which grants $25,000), he still state "you are a dead man." This is a reference to the movie "No Country for Old Men," as one of the protagonists stumbles upon a drug deal gone bad and a case which contains $2,000,000. When the protagonist finds and takes the money, he discovers that a hitman (as well as the police and cartel) are out to recover the money.

Between 23:00 and 0:00 in the eastern peak of Mount Gordo, the ghost of Jolene Cranley-Evans
will be present. She will not take damage or move, and the name of her estranged husband, Jock, is written in blood on the rock where she stands. Jolene fades away if the player gets too close.

Spoiler:In one of the missions for Devin, Franklin has to steal a car from a film studio. It is highly likely that the film being produced is 007: James Bond, as Franklin must first steal the clothes of an actor, a white tuxedo made famous by James Bond films, and the director of the film is British, the origins of the James Bond films. The car itself is loaded with various gadgets, another staple in the James Bond series.