The Grand Theft Auto games have been some of the most influential, important, and successful games of the past few years. Constantly and consistently raising the bar for great open-world design, it's no doubt that fans of the series are clamoring to know anything about Rockstar's next big project, Grand Theft Auto 6.
While Rockstar might not have officially confirmed anything about the game, there's a whole host of fan speculation, rumors, and reports available for anything from the protagonist's gender to the characters involved. Undoubtedly, the biggest elephant is Grand Theft Auto 6's setting, and Vice City seems to be a recurring theme that can have huge implications.
The Pros Of Returning To Vice City
Returning to places that have already been visited might sound a strange proposal to some, but this isn't the case with Rockstar. In fact, Rockstar Games seems to be thriving off on the basis of this repetition, with Los Santos and Liberty City being standout highlights that have been featured more than once.
This isn't to say that these are retreads by any means, as games featuring these cities usually have a different time period which, by extension, leads to new focuses. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas focused on gang culture, while Grand Theft Auto 5 is a clever satire on a lot of things wrong with modern American society. In addition to this, the revamped textures and the scale of the world make both renditions of a particular setting drastically different in many ways.
All of this combined creates a great case for returning to Vice City. Teeming with neon lights, Vice City is one great option for a setting that ought to be reimagined with modern technology. Many fan mods to both Grand Theft Auto 5 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City showcase the potential, and it'd be great to see a modern rendition of this long-forgotten setting. On the story side of things, there is a lot of iconic pop culture, fashion, and stories that were left unexplored in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
The Cons of Returning To Vice City
While there might be a lot of positives to returning to familiar locations such as the likes of Vice City, it isn't so hard to look at the possible negatives as well. Rockstar has mostly stuck to exploring three cities, Liberty City, Vice City, and Los Santos, all of which were encompassed in the Grand Theft Auto 2 under the name Anywhere City. It's true that Rockstar's exceptional writing chops and world-building give each rendition a unique look, but it's not hard to see some themes keep repeating with such entries.
A lot of it seemed quite great previously, especially given that how frequently Rockstar pumped out the Grand Theft Auto games. With a speculated gap of more than 10 years between the release of Grand Theft Auto 5 and 6, it's a great opportunity for the team to create something truly fresh and exciting. There's a whole host of places and timelines that would make for a great Grand Theft Auto game, and sticking to well-known places doesn't seem as appealign now.
Regardless of whether Grand Theft Auto 6 takes place in Vice City, the game is still quite some ways off, and given Rockstar's continued interest in Grand Theft Auto 5's online component, it seems that fans should keep their expectations in check for now.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is rumored to be in development.