The short answer
Grand Theft Auto VI is the fourth game set in Vice City. The city first appeared in 1997 as one of three maps in the original Grand Theft Auto. It got its own game in 2002, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, set in the 1980s, and a prequel in 2006, Vice City Stories, set in 1984. Rockstar now presents it as "Vice City, USA," the centre of the state of Leonida. When Rockstar moved the launch to November 19, 2026, its Newswire post promised "a return to modern day Vice City."
Rockstar has never called Vice City "Miami." The Miami comparison comes from reviewers and reference works, and this page labels it that way whenever it appears. Everything below was checked on September 29, 2026.
Four games, one city
| Game |
Rockstar's listed release |
Era in the game |
Lead character |
| Grand Theft Auto |
May 1, 1998 (commonly dated 1997) |
Not stated by Rockstar |
A small-time criminal |
| Grand Theft Auto: Vice City |
October 27, 2002 |
1986 |
Tommy Vercetti |
| Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories |
October 31, 2006 |
1984 |
Vic Vance |
| Grand Theft Auto VI |
November 19, 2026 (announced) |
Present day |
Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos |
The release dates are the ones on Rockstar's game pages. The 1986 setting of Vice City comes from GameSpot's 2002 review. Rockstar's own page only says "Welcome to the 1980s."
1997: one city of three
In the first Grand Theft Auto, Vice City was a top-down map. GameSpot's 2004 history of the series describes "two different levels in each of the three large cities: Liberty City, Vice City, and San Andreas." There was no story in the modern sense. You took jobs from pay phones, stole cars and collected points to unlock the next level. The name was established, but the city had no character of its own yet. Rockstar's game page only talks about "three of America's toughest cities."
2002: Vice City gets its own game
Five years later the city came back in 3D, a year after Grand Theft Auto III made that jump. Rockstar's Vice City page sells the decade before the city: "From the decade of big hair, excess, and pastel suits comes a story of one man's rise to the top of the criminal pile." It calls the city "a huge urban sprawl ranging from the beach to the swamps and the glitz to the ghetto."
GameSpot's review from October 2002 fills in the story. Tommy Vercetti has served 15 years for the Forelli family. The mob sends him from Liberty City to Vice City to set up operations, and his first drug deal goes wrong. The review calls the setting "a fictional take on Miami, Florida" and names Scarface and Miami Vice as the obvious influences. It also describes how the city opened up: the western half stayed locked at the start "due to hurricane warnings," and Tommy could later buy businesses, from a taxi firm to the Malibu Club, that paid him money and unlocked missions. GameSpot's history of the series singles out the soundtrack, "dozens of tracks from signature '80s musicians," with Michael Jackson, Herbie Hancock and Frankie Goes to Hollywood among them.
2006: Vice City Stories goes back two years
Vice City Stories returned to the same city at an earlier point. Rockstar's page for the game lists October 31, 2006 and opens: "Vice City, 1984. Opportunity abounds in a city emerging from the swamps." It describes construction "everywhere as a shining metropolis rises from foundations of crime and betrayal," and a lead, Vic Vance, who is a soldier with "a stark choice — build an empire or be crushed."
GameSpot's review identifies Vic as the brother of Lance Vance from the 2002 game and notes returning characters such as Phil Cassidy, Umberto Robina and Ricardo Diaz. The game was built for PlayStation Portable. Rockstar's page also lists PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. Its main new system was an empire of businesses taken from rival gangs, and it offered wireless multiplayer for up to six players.
Keeping the 1980s city on sale
Rockstar has re-released the 2002 game twice. On December 6, 2012, it put out a Vice City 10th Anniversary Edition for iOS and Android at $4.99, with "updated character models and lighting effects." On November 11, 2021, Vice City returned in Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, alongside GTA III and San Andreas. Rockstar says Grove Street Games adapted the trilogy to modern platforms using Unreal Engine. Rockstar's Vice City page still carries a Buy Now link.
2026: how Rockstar presents the modern city
Rockstar's GTA VI material treats Vice City as the headline and Leonida as the frame. The Trailer 1 post of December 5, 2023 introduced "the state of Leonida, home to the neon-soaked streets of Vice City and beyond." The main GTA VI page opens with "Vice City, USA" and calls it "the darkest side of the sunniest place in America."
The official Vice City destination page states the time jump directly, under the heading "Everything in Excess": "We're a long way from the '80s, but Vice City is still the sun and fun capital of America." It then names neighbourhoods, from the art deco hotels of Ocean Beach to Little Cuba and the VC Port. Our Leonida regions guide goes through each one in Rockstar's wording.
Rockstar also points back to the older games itself. The pre-order Vintage Vice City Pack promises to "flash back to when the neon burned brightest," with a '55 Vapid Stanier sedan and a garage near "the world-famous Ocean Beach." The pack's weapon pattern, according to Rockstar, is "inspired by Tommy Vercetti's iconic palm tree button-up," and another edition item is a pair of revolvers "with classic Vice City stylings sourced from the Vercetti Estate." On the GTA VI pages we checked, these item descriptions are the only mentions of Tommy Vercetti or his estate. The item-by-item split between editions is on our Standard vs Ultimate Edition page.
The city is in the merchandise and the music too. The September 2026 Goodtime State – Vice City Collection collector's box includes a cap "with Vice City Leonida embellishments," and Rockstar says the 34 tracks of Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album "capture the electric energy of Grand Theft Auto VI's world of Vice City and Leonida."
What Rockstar has not said
- Whether it is the same map. No official page compares the 2026 city with the 1986 or 1984 versions, or says which old landmarks survive.
- Whether old characters appear. A pattern and an estate bearing Tommy Vercetti's name are item descriptions, not a cameo announcement. None of the eight official character profiles names a character from an earlier game.
- The real-world model. "Miami" appears in reviews and press coverage, never on Rockstar's GTA VI pages.
- The size of the city. Rockstar has published no area, map image or comparison with earlier games.
Where to go next
For the eight people Rockstar has placed in and around Vice City, read the official character profiles. For the wider official record, see everything Rockstar has confirmed about GTA 6, which also tracks what is still unconfirmed.
