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VI for Vice City

If we take a look at the original GTA launched in 1997, it had three cities. At first you played in Liberty City. After earning a sufficient amount of money San Andreas was unlocked (back then it used to be a city not a state). And after completing it you moved to Vice City. In that specific order.

The game featured a top down view. It is often referred to as 2D era (although the buildings looked volumetric).

Liberty City was based on New York City. Obvious reference to Statue of Liberty.

San Andreas was clearly based on San Francisco, California.

And Vice City is definitely Miami, Florida. The name comes from the TV series Miami Vice which was popular in the 1980s.

This pattern was broken when GTA: London 1969, GTA: London 1961

and GTA 2 came out. GTA 2 was located in a fictional Anywhere City.

But the pattern was renewed in 3D era with the next three game titles: GTA 3 (located in Liberty City),

GTA: Vice City

and GTA: San Andreas.

Unlike GTA 1, the latter featured San Andreas as a whole state with three cities: Los Santos (based on Los Angeles), San Fierro (based on San Francisco) and Las Venturas (based on Las Vegas, Nevada). This time Vice City came before San Andreas, not after. It makes sense because San Andreas was way bigger and longer to create. Since 3D cities are much more difficult to design than 2D, Rockstar didn't put them all together but placed them in different games. This gave the time up to several years to work on details of each city separately. And the results were worth it.

HD era started with GTA 4 revisiting Liberty City but in much more detailed manner. HD textures and graphics were magnificent in 2008. The lights, the reflections, the shadows. It was a music for the eyes.

It took 5 more years to create a new HD version of Los Santos in GTA 5. The game was released in 2013. We know that Los Santos is located in the state of San Andreas (take a look at the license plates in GTA 5).

It's been 7 years since then. Rockstar is definitely working on GTA 6. If we look at the pattern, the order is reversed again, like in GTA 1. What comes after Liberty City and San Andreas? Correct, Vice City. Can you imagine the scale of the new city if it takes them so much long to create it?

Of course there may be several cities in GTA 6, hence the delay. But the rumors confirm Vice City. They also say about some Carcer City which we don't know if it will fit the Vice City atmosphere. But maybe this experiment from Rockstar will also be successful.

Let's summarize.

2D era (original order):

  • Liberty City (GTA 1)
  • San Andreas city (GTA 1)
  • Vice City (GTA 1)

3D era (reverse order):

  • Liberty City (GTA 3)
  • Vice City (GTA: Vice City)
  • San Andreas state (GTA: San Andreas)

HD era (original order again):

  • Liberty City (GTA 4)
  • San Andreas state (GTA 5)
  • Vice City (GTA 6)

Still not convinced? Then how about this. Usually GTA eras are not connected to each other. There are no inter-era references. San Andreas city from GTA 1 is never mentioned in 3D and HD eras, as it later became a whole state. Vice City is mentioned in GTA 4, GTA 5 (billboards, in-game TV) and Episodes from Liberty City (Vice City FM radio station). If it's not a reference to GTA: Vice City from 3D era then it's about a new Vice City in HD era. Rockstar has been hinting us since then.

And of course the first two letters in Vice City would perfectly fit for a GTA VI logo (Roman numerals have been used since GTA III). "VI for Vice City" — sounds like a heck of a great movie.

Compare with the GTA: Vice City logo.

GTA 6: to be or not to be

After GTA V was released more than 6 years ago in 2013, the fans have been wondering about the next GTA game. When will it come out, where will it take place, how many protagonists will there be and, most importantly, will GTA 6 even be created at all?

We will try to answer that last question, since all the other ones depend on it.

Let's take a look at the latest GTA title, GTA V. According to Wikipedia, it is the third best-selling video game of all time with over 115 million copies shipped and about $6 billion in worldwide revenue. Can you believe that? Its success is only superseded by Minecraft and Tetris. Also, the previous GTA titles, like GTA IV, GTA: San Andreas, GTA: Vice City and GTA III, are also in that top list. It's pretty clear that people love GTA.

Why? Huge list of reasons. Open world, freedom to be whoever you want, vast range of things and pastimes to do. Freedom to do stuff you can't actually do in reality. This is why people like GTAlity. And it's not only about GTA V. Currently, it's the latest GTA title and has the most impressive graphics (although, GTA IV arguably had even better graphics and physics which was way ahead of its time). It has a huge map and is still actively playable due to the new DLCs coming out regularly which add new online modes. And it is definitely fun to play together with friends. Alternatively, if you feel like a sociopath, there is still a single player mode that allows you to conquer Los Santos by shooting cops from a rocket launcher. And let us not forget about endless mods created by thousands of fans around the world that make your gaming experience even way more fun. You can become a Spiderman who jumps between rooftops, then take a Batmobile, escape from a tsunami and shoot a dragon flying nearby. And even if you get bored in Los Santos after this, you can bring the old good Vice City in GTA V. The creators, Rockstar Games, don't mind players using mods, as long as they aren't used for cheating in GTA: Online. Thanks to this, doubtfully any game can ever repeat GTA's success.

Now why would Rockstar Games put sooo much effort in just a video game? Along with every GTA game they create a whole world — a map, locations, vehicles, characters, missions and even radio stations. The answer is obvious — they like it. And, of course, the money. Because that's what business is for. Making money. So after reading this, do you really think Rockstar would stop doing what they like so much and earning billions of dollars (that's right, billions, with a B)? Especially when gamers all around the world are thirsty. Could Dan Houser (Rockstar Games co-founder) one day say: OK, that's it, we're done with GTA, I'm retiring to buy a villa with ocean view (no pun intended) and drink tequila for the rest of my life?

But if you still want some solid proof, here is a quote by Leslie Benzies, the former president of Rockstar North (a subsidiary of Rockstar Games), dated in 2013:

We've got about 45 years worth of ideas we want to do. We don't know what GTA 6 will be, but we've got some ideas.

How do you like that? Not only we're expecting one upcoming GTA game, but many more. Breathe out with relief.

We are stuck in Los Santos with GTA V for almost 7 years. We really need to get out somewhere else.

So it's obvious that the verdict is: GTA 6 to be!