The next entry in Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto franchise – Grand Theft Auto 6 – is set to return Vice City for the first time since 2006’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. The other major locations from the 3D era of GTA have returned in later titles, with GTA 4 seeing a return to GTA 3‘s Liberty City, and GTA 5 returning to GTA: San Andreas‘ Los Santos. Fans have been eager to see a return to the series’ fictional version of Miami, but Rockstar risks losing some of the essence of its earlier Vice City-based games due to GTA 6‘s modern-day setting.
A 2022 Bloomberg report revealed the first bits of information surrounding GTA 6‘s setting and female protagonist, confirming a Bonnie and Clyde-esque duo called Lucia and Jason as the game’s leads. This alongside a leak of over 90 videos that Rockstar later confirmed were legitimate revealed that – despite rumors to the contrary – the title would also be taking place in the present day, much like GTA 4 and GTA 5 did, rather than the period pieces of Vice City and San Andreas, which were set in the 80s and 90s respectively.
A Huge Part Of GTA: Vice City’s Appeal Was Its 80s Atmosphere
Part of what made GTA: Vice City so great was its 80s-inspired Miami Vice-inspired setting. With its neon-lit streets, homages to classic crime movies such as Scarface, and GTA: Vice City‘s epic soundtrack, the 80s was a huge part of the game and even its titular city’s identity. Given the focus on the era in popular shows such as Stranger Things lately, it’s a shame the title won’t be returning to it. While the real Miami has obviously moved on from this era, if GTA 6 is set in the modern day, then it runs the risk of losing what made the earlier Miami-set games so iconic.
GTA 6 Could Take Inspiration From Modern Miami Stories
There is no shortage of Miami-set pop culture for Grand Theft Auto 6 to use for its updated setting, however. From crime scenes inspired by CSI: Miami and Dexter, Michael Bay-inspired action sequences like those seen in the Bad Boys franchise, to the races and cars of 2 Fast 2 Furious already made GTA Online appearances, Miami has been the home to many popular films and TV shows since the 80s that Rockstar could pull inspiration from. Given how Miami Vice seemed to make up such a huge part of GTA: Vice City‘s DNA, Rockstar could even poke fun at Michael Mann’s lackluster 2006 reboot, which struggled to update the story to a present-day setting.
From the information given in its leaks, the changes in its creative team, and rumors that the upcoming title will have a different sense of humor to its predecessors, Rockstar seems to be working on a very different kind of GTA title with GTA 6. How Rockstar ultimately decides to update one of Grand Theft Auto‘s most iconic locations, and how successful this new direction for the franchise is with fans, is yet to be seen. Given how the studio confirmed it would be pulling resources from other projects to focus solely on Grand Theft Auto 6, fans hopefully won’t have to wait too much longer before they get a first proper glimpse of Rockstar’s vision.
