GTA 6 Vice City vs 2002’s Vice City: What Rockstar Kept, Moved and Renamed

Rockstar’s own copy settles the biggest question in one line: “We’re a long way from the ’80s, but Vice City is still the sun and fun capital of America.” GTA 6 isn’t a remake of 2002’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. It’s the same Miami-inspired city, rebuilt in the present day as one part of the state of Leonida.

So what survived the 40 years? Some names came back, some are new, and some 2002 names are showing up in trailers without Rockstar ever mentioning them in its copy. This piece checks each one against Rockstar’s own material and major outlets, and labels it.

The 2002 City, in Rockstar’s Words

IGN’s 2002 preview described the setting as “a virtual Miami, Florida.” Rockstar creative team member James Worrell said: “We visited every neighborhood in Miami, which is obviously the inspirational source” (Reported, IGN). The game was set in the 1980s, 15 years before GTA 3, with Tommy Vercetti sent south by Sonny Forelli and helped by lawyer Ken Rosenberg and Lance Vance.

Sam Houser described the map: “Vice City is significantly bigger than Liberty City… more buildings to go into, more roofs, more jumps, more surprises, more waterways.” IGN’s own Vice City guide splits the 2002 map into districts including Ocean Beach, Washington Beach, Vice Point, Leaf Links, Starfish Island, Prawn Island, Downtown, Little Havana, Little Haiti, Viceport and Escobar International (Reported).

What Rockstar Kept

• The city and its model. Vice City is still a fictional Miami, and the state is new: Leonida (Official).
• Ocean Beach. The one 2002 district in Rockstar’s Vice City copy, now with “pastel art deco hotels and bright white sands” (Official).
• Washington Beach. Named in Rockstar’s Ultimate Edition copy as where the Shitzu Squalo boat is docked (Official).
• Flash FM. Rockstar’s radio page calls it “the Vice City institution” for pop. The name is back. The 1980s playlist isn’t (Official).

What Comes Back as a Nod

Rockstar’s edition copy leans on 2002 without bringing its characters back. The Ultimate Edition’s revolvers are “sourced exclusively from the Vercetti Estate,” and its ’95 Grotti Cheetah is an “ode to Shore Drive.” The pre-order Vintage Vice City Pack is billed as items that “flash back to when the neon burned brightest,” including a tropical weapon pattern based on Tommy Vercetti’s palm-tree shirt (Official). None of that confirms Tommy appears in GTA 6.

Outlets found more in the footage (Reported):

• GameSpot (Dec 2023) spotted the Ocean View Hotel in the background of a Trailer 1 shot and a club scene reminiscent of the Malibu Club.
• IGN (Aug 2026) says the Extended Look shows Starfish Island about 12 minutes in, the island where Ricardo Diaz lived in 2002.
• IGN also spotted a Love Fist shirt, the original game’s cover art in a frame in Lucia’s apartment, and a club sign reading “Cortez,” which it says could be a nod to Colonel Cortez.

What Changed Name

This is where most of the 2002 map goes quiet. Rockstar’s copy names Little Cuba, “the bustling panaderías,” where the 2002 map had Little Havana and Little Haiti (Official for Little Cuba). It names the Tisha-Wocka flea market, which has no 2002 equivalent. It names the VC Port, “the cruise ship capital of the world,” where 2002 had Viceport.

Is Little Cuba a rename of Little Havana? Probably in spirit, since both point at the Cuban community in Miami. But Rockstar hasn’t said so, so it stays Not confirmed. The same goes for Viceport and VC Port, and for any 2002 airport name.

What Moved

Nothing is officially confirmed to have physically moved. What did move:

• The era. From the 1980s to today, “a long way from the ’80s” (Official).
• The scale. In 2002, Vice City was the whole map. In GTA 6, it’s one of six regions Rockstar named, alongside the Leonida Keys, Grassrivers, Port Gellhorn, Ambrosia and Mount Kalaga (Official).
• The cast. Tommy’s crime story is replaced by Jason and Lucia. Rockstar describes Lucia’s mom dreaming of the good life “since their days in Liberty City” (Official).

Why the Comparison Keeps Coming Up

Rockstar itself drew a line between the eras this week. Bloomberg, as reported by VGC on Oct 14, compared GTA 6’s groundwork to how GTA 3 set up Vice City’s release a year later. Aaron Garbut: “We foundationally changed a lot of stuff on this project. But now it’s done, and we’re not going to rip it apart” (Reported). That’s about tools and turnaround, not about the map.

What We Don’t Know

• A district map. Rockstar hasn’t released one.
• Whether Vice Point, Little Haiti, Prawn Island, Leaf Links or Downtown return by name.
• Whether Starfish Island is a full district or just a sign.
• Whether any 2002 character appears beyond edition copy.

More on the city: Vice City, Vice City districts, GTA Vice City (2002), real-life locations and Leonida vs Florida.

Official Trailer 1, the first look at modern Vice City. GameSpot spotted the Ocean View Hotel in one of its shots.