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GPT Image 2 — The Full Leak Guide

All known codenames (in order)

CodenameWhen spottedNotes
hazel-genDecember 9, 2025First sighting on LMArena
hazelDecember 2025Same batch
chestnutDecember 2025Believed to be Image-2-mini (lightweight)
hazelnutDecember 2025Believed to be Image-2 flagship
maskingtape-alphaApril 2026Latest batch — all pulled from Arena
gaffertape-alphaApril 2026Same batch
packingtape-alphaApril 2026Same batch
There might new codenames coming out, so hurry before it gets changed.

How to access it right now

  1. Go to arena.ai
  1. Click the Battle Tab
  1. Vote on battles — you'll hit it blind in the rotation
  1. If you get an image that looks shockingly realistic, you're probably testing it

What makes it different

  • Not based on GPT-4o — completely separate architecture
  • Near-photorealistic faces with accurate skin texture and lighting
  • Text inside images actually renders correctly (4o fails at this)
  • Code, formulas, and labels with zero distortion
  • Biggest leap from OpenAI in image quality since DALL-E 3

Test prompts to try

  • A cinematic close-up portrait of a woman in golden hour light, film grain, 35mm
  • A handwritten sticky note that says "don't forget to call mom" on a desk with coffee
  • Python code snippet printed on a white page, clean lighting, sharp focus
  • Two people laughing at a cafe, candid street photography style