GTA Vice City missions

Updated 30 October 2026 · Fan site. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) has around 38 to 40 story missions, depending on how the gta.wiki list is counted, plus a set of asset missions tied to businesses Tommy buys. The story runs from Ken Rosenberg's first jobs through Ricardo Diaz's empire to Tommy's own rackets, and ends with Keep Your Friends Close...

How many missions are in GTA Vice City?

The gta.wiki mission list for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City gives a headline figure of 38 story missions, while its own sections list a few more entries, including the opening scene and the Print Works chain. On top of these come asset missions linked to the businesses Tommy can buy. Wikipedia explains that each business has its own set of jobs and starts paying out once they are done.

The plot is covered on our Vice City and Tommy Vercetti pages. This hub shows who gives which missions and what each chain is for.

How do you unlock the mainland and Starfish Island?

Tommy starts on the eastern beach island of Vice City. gta.wiki says Diaz's mission Phnom Penh '86 opens the mainland, while Colonel Cortez's Guardian Angels opens Starfish Island, where Diaz's mansion stands.

Early contacts: Ken, Avery, Cortez and Diaz

Wikipedia describes Avery as a Texan tycoon, voiced by Burt Reynolds, who pushes Tommy to squeeze businesses for protection money. Cortez is the retired colonel who helped set up the failed drug deal and acts as a mentor. Lance's discovery that Diaz was behind the ambush leads to his capture, which Tommy answers in Death Row. Rub Out is the attack on Diaz's mansion that hands Tommy the estate.

Cortez's chain closes with All Hands On Deck! Wikipedia notes that the colonel is eventually forced out of Vice City by French government agents, and that he leaves his daughter Mercedes in Tommy's care. Ken Rosenberg, the crooked lawyer who escaped the ambush with Tommy, is the one who first points him towards local work.

Tommy's empire: the mid-game contacts

From the mansion Tommy starts running rackets of his own, following Avery's advice about protection money. The Print Works chain, handled by its operator Earnest Kelly according to gta.wiki, becomes available after Shakedown or the purchase of the Print Works. Finishing Cap the Collector opens the finale.

What are asset missions in Vice City?

Assets are businesses that Tommy buys. Wikipedia lists examples such as a film studio, a taxi company and clubs. Each one comes with jobs, and once they are finished the business earns money over time. gta.wiki groups them like this:

Side activities such as vigilante, paramedic and taxi work return from GTA III; our side missions and Hidden Packages guides cover them.

What is the hardest mission in Vice City?

The usual answer is Demolition Man, the remote-control helicopter job for Avery Carrington. GTABase's 2025 list of the 20 hardest missions in the series ranks it 12th and blames the touchy controls and the workers who attack the helicopter. Reviewers in 2002 were broadly positive about the missions. Wikipedia quotes IGN's Douglass Perry saying they gave a "stronger feeling of being inside a story" than before, while GameSpot and GameSpy noted moments of frustration.

How does Vice City's story end?

The last mission is Keep Your Friends Close.... Sonny Forelli arrives to collect, Tommy plans to pay him in fake cash, and Lance changes sides. The fight at the mansion settles who runs the city.