Vice City in GTA 6: what Rockstar has shown so far

Modern-day Vice City in GTA 6 is part of the fictional state of Leonida, where the game takes place. Rockstar has brought back the familiar name, beaches and neon nights, but there is more here than a new take on a holiday postcard: Cuban bakeries, a counterfeit goods market, a cruise port, and people making their money through music, clubs and real estate. In an interview with Famitsu, Head of Development Rob Nelson explained that the variety of people and neighbourhoods in present-day Miami and Florida drew the team back to Vice City. The city from the 2002 game remains a useful point of comparison, but GTA VI’s setting extends beyond a single city.

Vice City in GTA 6: the beach and life in the city

Ocean Beach is the first place named in Rockstar’s official description. Pastel-coloured hotels line the white sand. In the published beach screenshot, some people are sunbathing or playing ball, while others jog, look at their phones or pose for photos. Rockstar presents the beach as a busy place in its own right, rather than just a backdrop for a chase.

The beach remains Vice City’s most recognisable image, but Rockstar quickly turns its attention inland. The images on the official Vice City page show busy roads, high-rise buildings, a police arrest, a night-time skyline with a Ferris wheel, and bikers on the streets. Their placement in this gallery makes it possible to identify them confidently as scenes from the city. The screenshots do not, however, tell us which activities or buildings players will be able to access.

Little Cuba, Tisha-Wocka and the port: beyond the postcard

Beyond the beach, Rockstar highlights three more places. Life in Little Cuba revolves around its panaderías, or Cuban bakeries. The Tisha-Wocka flea market sells goods bearing fake brand names. Rockstar describes the Port of Vice City as the “cruise ship capital of the world”, but has not explained how it works or what players will be able to do there. All four places appear in the same city description. They are neither a complete list of neighbourhoods nor an official guide to where each one is located.

The white sand and hotels give the city its resort image. Behind that are everyday places: bakeries, the counterfeit market and the cruise port. Together, they make Vice City more than a backdrop of neon and palm trees.

The materials examined for this article do not specify whether players can shop at Tisha-Wocka or take a cruise. A description of a location is not a list of gameplay features.

How clubs, music and money connect in Vice City

Rockstar’s portrayal of the city’s nightlife goes beyond wide shots. One official screenshot shows dancers performing in a club as banknotes fly around them. Separately, the studio introduces Boobie Ike, a former street hustler who has built a business spanning real estate, a strip club and a recording studio. He is developing Only Raw Records with Dre’Quan Priest, while rap duo Real Dimez are looking for another hit. In its profile of Real Dimez, Rockstar highlights viral videos, rap tracks and a constant social media presence. The official gallery does not establish that the club in the screenshot is Boobie’s.

The stories of Boobie, Dre’Quan and Real Dimez link the club, the studio and viral videos to the same local music scene. These are connections Rockstar has described between its characters, rather than a promise that players can run a club or a record label. Their work helps explain why Vice City has stories of its own beyond the journey of protagonists Jason and Lucia.

What remains of the old Vice City

Rockstar’s official description recalls the 1980s, then leaves them in the past. GTA: Vice City, released in 2002, was set in that era. The new city retains the name, the beachfront and the neon nights. But the screenshots show people recording events on their phones, while city life takes in markets, bakeries, clubs and a music scene. Nelson told Famitsu that, after Liberty City and Los Santos, the variety of present-day Miami and Florida made the team want to return here.

That is continuity in the setting and atmosphere, not evidence that every street from the old map or every character will return. The official material examined for this article contains no announcement of Tommy Vercetti’s return. A familiar name alone does not mean a place has kept its layout or appearance from the 2002 game.

The GTA 6 Vice City map: what is known

Rockstar’s publicly available material includes screenshots of Vice City and the names of several places. The official Rockstar Store also lists a two-sided souvenir poster whose reverse is described as a map of the whole state of Leonida. This is official map material, but the sources examined here do not establish every Vice City neighbourhood or its exact playable boundaries.

Fan-made maps help people piece together an impression of the city from the trailers, but cannot confirm the exact positions of its neighbourhoods or the size of Vice City. The sources examined here do not establish the city’s exact size either.

For now, Vice City’s identity emerges from its beach and hotels, local neighbourhoods, market, port and nightlife built around music. The city already has a recognisable character, but the sources examined here do not establish its exact playable boundaries or provide a complete overview of its routes and buildings players can enter.

Sources

• Rockstar Games, Vice City: the city description, four named places and official screenshots.
• Rockstar Games, Only in Leonida: the profiles of Boobie Ike, Dre’Quan Priest and Real Dimez.
• Rockstar Games, screenshot gallery: the official source of the Vice City images.
• Famitsu, interview with Rob Nelson: why the team returned to present-day Miami and Florida, and the protagonists’ situation in the city.
• Rockstar Store, Vice City Collection: the official description of the two-sided souvenir poster with a map of Leonida.