Vice City

Updated 28 October 2026 · Fan site. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.

Vice City is the Grand Theft Auto series' fictional version of Miami, Florida. It first appeared in the original Grand Theft Auto in 1997, became the 1980s setting of GTA: Vice City (2002) and Vice City Stories (2006), and returns in the present day as the main city of GTA VI, out 19 November 2026.

What is Vice City based on?

Vice City is Miami seen through a crime-movie lens. Every version has beaches, palm trees and a big port. The 2002 game borrowed heavily from 1980s pop culture. Wikipedia names Scarface and Miami Vice as major influences, and art director Aaron Garbut used Miami Vice as a guide for the neon lighting.

Vice City in the 2D era (1997)

In the top-down Grand Theft Auto (28 November 1997 in Europe), Vice City is the third and last city. It opens after the San Andreas chapters. The map is one large mainland split into eight districts, with a smaller island called Vice Beach to the northeast. GTA Wiki notes that this layout is closer to real Miami's geography than the later 3D city. Here the player is blackmailed by a corrupt officer, Samuel Deever, and works for the Rastafarian gang of Brother Marcus.

Vice City in the 3D era (1984 and 1986)

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City came out on 29 October 2002 in North America and is set in 1986. The team made research trips to Miami soon after finishing GTA III. They wanted a period setting to contrast with modern Liberty City. The city sits in Florida and stars Tommy Vercetti, voiced by Ray Liotta.

The 2002 map has two main islands, the beach side and the mainland, with Starfish Island and Prawn Island in the bay between them. Players start on the beach side. Early in the story a storm warning for Hurricane Hermione closes the bridges, and they reopen when the storm misses. Known districts include Ocean Beach, Washington Beach, Vice Point, Downtown, Little Havana, Little Haiti and Escobar International Airport.

Vice City Stories (31 October 2006, PSP; PS2 in March 2007) uses the same city two years earlier, in 1984. Its lead is Victor Vance, a soldier from the Fort Baxter base. Some places look different. A car showroom from 1986 is still being built, and a trailer park that is empty in 1986 is full of people. A few Ocean Beach hotels were redesigned and no longer copy real buildings so closely.

Is Vice City in the HD games before GTA VI?

Only by name. GTA IV and its episodes reference it. The Ballad of Gay Tony has a radio station called Vice City FM, and the Rotterdam Tower lobby lists Vice City next to other series cities. You cannot visit it in GTA V or GTA Online.

Is GTA 6 set in Vice City?

Yes. Grand Theft Auto VI brings Vice City back in the present day as the largest city in the fictional state of Leonida. Rockstar's own short description is that Vice City is still "the sun and fun capital of America" Rockstar. For the neighbourhoods Rockstar has named, see Vice City in GTA 6. For the other regions of the state, see GTA 6 map and regions.