OpenAI Tests Image V2 on ChatGPT and Arena

Three internal codenames - packingtape-alpha, maskingtape-alpha, gaffertape-alpha - surfaced on LM Arena tied to what OpenAI calls Image V2, a next-gen image model already reaching some ChatGPT users through A/B testing. Early testers report it renders realistic UI mockups with correctly spelled text, a persistent weak spot in prior models. Performance looks competitive with Google's Nano Banana Pro, which has held the Arena leaderboard for months. OpenAI used the same staged rollout approach with codenames Chestnut and Hazelnut before shipping GPT Image 1.5, so the pattern here feels familiar. Whether V2 ships in days or weeks, the image generation race between OpenAI and Google keeps tightening.