GTA 6 Vice City: Modern Setting in Leonida Explained
GTA 6 Vice City is the main urban hub of the new Grand Theft Auto, rebuilt as a present-day Miami-inspired city inside the fictional state of Leonida.
Establishing aerial of Vice City at sunset (Trailer 1, 0:02).
Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 1 · timestamp 0:02 · © Rockstar Games / Take-Two Interactive · Reproduced for editorial commentary under fair use. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
GTA 6 Vice City: Modern Setting in Leonida Explained
Vice City returns in Grand Theft Auto VI as the central urban area of a new open world, rebuilt as a present-day, Miami-inspired metropolis within the fictional state of Leonida. Rockstar Games confirmed the setting in the first trailer on December 4, 2023, and expanded it across a second trailer in May 2025. It is the third game in the series to use the Vice City name, but the first to depict it in a current-day, fully online era.
What Vice City is in GTA 6
Vice City in GTA 6 is the largest city inside Leonida, a fictional U.S. state modeled on real-world Florida. Rockstar’s official game page describes Leonida as stretching from “the neon-soaked streets of Vice City to sun-drenched beaches, swamps, and forests beyond,” with Vice City positioned as the urban centerpiece of that landscape.1
Visually, the city draws heavily from contemporary Miami: Art Deco hotels along the beachfront, an elevated freeway system, container ports, suburban inland districts, and Everglades-style wetlands on the city’s outskirts. Trailer 1 establishes this identity with rapid cuts between neon strips, rooftop pools, beach crowds, and a port skyline.2
Vice City vs. the 2002 game
GTA 6’s Vice City is not the same city players visited in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002). The 2002 game was set in 1986 and depicted a stylized 1980s Miami pastiche. GTA 6’s Vice City is set in the present day and is built from the ground up for current-generation hardware. Rockstar has not stated whether any direct lore continuity links the two games beyond the shared name and geographic inspiration.3
| Title | Released | Setting | Era |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | 2002 | Vice City (standalone) | 1986 |
| Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories | 2006 | Vice City (standalone) | 1984 |
| Grand Theft Auto VI | Not released as of May 2026 | Vice City within Leonida | Present day |
Confirmed Vice City features
The following elements have appeared on-screen in official trailers and can be treated as confirmed for the city itself, distinct from the wider Leonida map:
- A dense urban core with high-rise buildings, multi-lane freeways, and overhead signage referencing “Kelly County,” “VCI Airport,” “Catalan Blvd,” “Stockyard,” and “Downtown.”2
- An Art Deco hotel district with neon signage, palm trees, and street-level nightlife.2
- A commercial port with container cranes and cargo shipping.2
- Beach areas, rooftop pools, and yacht/jet-ski activity offshore.24
- A nightclub scene including a venue branded “NINE Vice City” shown in Trailer 2.4
- Law-enforcement branding for the “Vice County Sheriff’s Office,” shown on a news graphic in Trailer 1.2
- Leonida-plated vehicles operating throughout the city.4
Specific neighborhood names beyond those visible on freeway signs have not been officially listed. Rockstar has not published a map of Vice City as of May 2026.
Vice City in the trailers
Trailer 1 (December 4, 2023) is structured largely as a tour of Vice City and surrounding Leonida, opening with an aerial causeway shot before moving through beachfront, nightlife, prison, and street-level material.2 Trailer 2 (May 6, 2025) returns to the city for additional nightclub, waterfront, and chase footage, and shows protagonists Jason and Lucia operating across both city and coastal water environments.4
The trailers consistently frame Vice City as a working contemporary city rather than a period piece — phones, social media UIs, modern vehicles, and present-day fashion all appear repeatedly across both reveals.24
Status
Vice City is confirmed as the main urban setting of Grand Theft Auto VI, sitting inside the larger Leonida state map. Rockstar has not released an official map, district list, or square-mileage figure for the city as of May 2026. Further detail on neighborhoods, interiors, and traversal is expected through additional Newswire posts and pre-release coverage ahead of the game’s launch.1
Footnotes
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Grand Theft Auto VI — Rockstar Games. https://www.rockstargames.com/VI ↩ ↩2
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Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 1, Rockstar Games, December 4, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdBZY2fkU-0 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8
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Grand Theft Auto VI — Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto_VI ↩
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Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 2, Rockstar Games, May 6, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQRLujxTm3c ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
Gallery
Art Deco hotel strip at night, central to Vice City's visual identity (Trailer 1, 0:32).
Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 1 · timestamp 0:32 · © Rockstar Games / Take-Two Interactive · Reproduced for editorial commentary under fair use. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
Oversized 'VICE' signage shown at sunset (Trailer 1, 0:39).
Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 1 · timestamp 0:39 · © Rockstar Games / Take-Two Interactive · Reproduced for editorial commentary under fair use. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
Jason and Lucia on a jet ski, Vice City skyline behind (Trailer 2, 2:20).
Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 2 · timestamp 2:20 · © Rockstar Games / Take-Two Interactive · Reproduced for editorial commentary under fair use. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
Sources
- Grand Theft Auto VI — Rockstar Games (retrieved May 21, 2026)
- Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 1 (December 4, 2023) (retrieved May 21, 2026)
- Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 2 (May 6, 2025) (retrieved May 21, 2026)
- Grand Theft Auto VI — Wikipedia (retrieved May 21, 2026)