Exploring GTA 6: Vice City

Our Exploring GTA 6 series begins with Vice City, the neon-soaked heart of Leonida and one of the most recognizable locations in Grand Theft Auto history.

Vice City is back, but this is no longer the 1980s. Rockstar Games is bringing the city into the modern day for Grand Theft Auto VI, combining beaches, nightlife, luxury, street culture and the less glamorous side of life in one massive urban setting.

Vice City at a Glance

• State: Leonida
• Inspiration: A modern-day take on Miami and South Florida.
• Known for: Beaches, nightlife, Art Deco architecture, luxury and excess.
• Confirmed locations: Ocean Beach, Little Cuba, the Tisha-Wocka flea market and VC Port.
• Key characters: Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos will find themselves caught up in a criminal conspiracy stretching across Leonida.
• Returning location: Vice City previously served as the setting for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.

A Modern Vice City

Rockstar makes it clear that GTA 6‘s Vice City has moved well beyond the era portrayed in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. The new version captures a modern city built around glamour, hustle and greed, while still retaining the beaches, palm trees and neon nightlife that made the location famous.

The official screenshots offer a look at several sides of the city, from crowded beaches and towering skylines to busy streets and nightlife after the sun goes down. Vice City may look like paradise from a distance, but GTA 6 is also set to explore the crime, desperation and excess hiding underneath it.

Ocean Beach

Ocean Beach represents the postcard version of Vice City. Rockstar describes the area through its pastel Art Deco hotels and bright white sands, immediately recalling the famous beachfront architecture of Miami Beach.

The area should be instantly familiar to longtime Grand Theft Auto fans while being far more detailed than the version players explored more than two decades ago.

Little Cuba

Vice City also includes Little Cuba, a neighborhood Rockstar highlights for its bustling panaderías and strong local character.

Its inclusion shows that GTA 6’s version of Vice City will extend beyond beaches, hotels and nightclubs, with distinct neighborhoods helping give different parts of the city their own identity.

Tisha-Wocka Flea Market

Another confirmed location is the Tisha-Wocka flea market, where bootleg brands are part of the attraction. It is the kind of smaller detail that suggests Rockstar is filling Vice City with more than major landmarks, giving players plenty to discover away from the city’s tourist hotspots.

VC Port

On the waterfront is VC Port, a massive shipping and cruise hub that Rockstar describes as the cruise ship capital of the world.

The port provides another contrast to Vice City’s glamorous beaches and nightlife, bringing industrial docks and maritime activity into the city. Given Grand Theft Auto’s history with smuggling, robberies and high-speed escapes, it is also a location that immediately opens up plenty of possibilities for GTA 6’s criminal world.

The Heart of GTA 6

Vice City is only one part of the much larger state of Leonida, which also includes the Leonida Keys, Grassrivers, Port Gellhorn, Ambrosia and Mount Kalaga National Park.

Still, Vice City appears positioned to be at the center of GTA 6’s world. Jason and Lucia’s story will eventually place them in the middle of a criminal conspiracy stretching across Leonida, and the city provides the perfect backdrop for a story built around money, ambition and survival.

This story is part of PSXNetwork‘s continuing look at the characters and locations of Grand Theft Auto VI.