There are lots of rumors about Grand Theft Auto 6‘s setting, but the sixth GTA game was already set in Vice City, counting by the actual amount of titles released and not Rockstar’s misleading numbering system. The very first Grand Theft Auto game, developed back when Rockstar was still called DMA Design, released over twenty years ago in October of 1997, and has been followed up with much, much more than just four other titles in the intervening years.
Grand Theft Auto 2 came out two years later, in 1999, and that year also saw the release of two more GTA games, Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 and Grand Theft Auto: London 1961. While both required a copy of the base game and were technically expansion packs to the original GTA, London 1969 and London 1961 introduced new missions, vehicles, and characters into the franchise. Grand Theft Auto was both the first game in the series and the first to get post-launch expanded content, but it definitely isn’t the last, although it would be until 2009’s Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned that it would happen again.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
In 2001, Rockstar released Grand Theft Auto III, the fifth Grand Theft Auto title. GTA 3 was the first game in the series to become massively popular, thanks in part due to the updated graphical capabilities of the PlayStation 2 but also to Rockstar’s then-unique approach to open world video game design, something which has been copied hundreds, if not thousands, of times since. The next game, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, released one year later, and has been remembered even more fondly.
Why GTA 6 Rumors Always Focus On Vice City
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was the sixth GTA game released, focusing on the pastel-clad Tommy Vercetti and his rise to power in a 1980’s fictional Miami setting. Nearly every major rumor (and most fan polls, as evidenced by user posts on GTAForums) thinks that GTA 6 should return to the sunny shores of Vice City, and it’s easy to see why. As the sixth Grand Theft Auto title, GTA: Vice City introduced a number of new mechanics which would later go on to become series mainstays, such as riding on motorcycles, changing outfits, and purchasing property.
Even though there was only a year between the release of Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the latter saw a marked improvement in not only the game’s graphical quality but also its engine. While not as transformative as the sometimes-controversial next entry in the series, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, GTA: Vice City introduced things like proper airplane mechanics, boats, and buying items from stores. The game’s story was also a drastic change from anything which had came before, with the cast filled with iconic actors like Danny Trejo and Ray Liotta, all of them doing their best to give service to a story which was almost, but not quite, the exact plot of Scarface.
No one outside of Rockstar Games is sure what the setting of GTA 6 will be, but most people seem to prefer the idea of the franchise returning to Vice City over anything else. Being that Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was only the sixth GTA game ever made (and has since been followed with nine other entries, including portable titles like Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and other expansion packs like Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony) it’s interesting Vice City still draws the most appeal over other less prominent possible GTA 6 locations like Carcer City. Part of this is likely due to the fact that while Grand Theft Auto V gave players a graphically enhanced, modern version of San Andreas, and Grand Theft Auto IV did the same for Liberty City, Vice City fans have yet to receive the same treatment. Whether or not Grand Theft Auto 6 does actually take place in Vice City, fans of the fake Floridian setting should rest easy knowing their favorite entry was technically GTA 6 all along.
Source: GTAForums
