Rumors in the past few years have suggested a lot of interesting and varied theories forGrand Theft Auto 6. While fans eagerly await official details on the nextGrand Theft Autogame, discussion has been circling about where the franchise will go next.
With the insane success of the last game mostly in the rearview, Rockstar has kept its lips tightly sealed onGrand Theft Auto 6, not mentioning anything concrete about its development or existence entirely. With wildly different rumors being mentioned about the next game, there’s several possibilities as to which real-life cityGrand Theft Auto 6will emulate.
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Vice City
Vice City is perhaps the most likely choice for placesGrand Theft Auto 6could go next. SinceGrand Theft Auto3,the franchise has rotated between three fictional cities, each based on major United States metropolitan areas: New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. Should Rockstar continue to follow the sequential order it has previously established with the franchise, Vice City is the most probable choice forGrand Theft Auto 6’s setting.Vice City asGrand Theft Auto 6’s settinghas been rumored since 2018, but there’s clear evidence that makes it the most credible guess for the next game’s settings
Even if there’s no logical correlation between the locations in past games, it’s still been 14 years since the series has returned to the Miami-lookalike.Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Storieswas the last game based in the pseudo-Sunshine State, and even then, it was a prequel to the originalGrand Theft Auto: Vice City, not a completely new take on the city. If supposedleaked screenshots fromGrand Theft Auto 6are to be believed, then the return to Vice City may be a long time coming.
Another important theme to note as that all of the most recentGrand Theft Autogames have taken place in modern times. Every game from the supposed “3D universe” (Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) takes place within a fictional decade of United States history; 70s, 80s, and 90s respectively.
FromGrand Theft Auto 4to most recentlyGrand Theft Auto 5, each game took place in the 21st century and was based on the current cultural climate of the United States during development time. Some fans have even taken tomodding Vice City intoGrand Theft Auto 5as a concept for a modern Miami depiction. ShouldGrand Theft Autoreturn to Vice City forGrand Theft Auto 6, it would be the first time the franchise depicts a modern Miami representation.
Past evidence aside, conceptuallyGrand Theft Auto6returning to Vice City would make sense considering how United States culture has shifted interests to retro-future concepts. The advent of retro-inspired pop culture media, fashion, music, etc. has brought back a lot of 80s inspired styles and concepts in pop culture. Examples would be shows likeStranger ThingsorRiverdale, the popularity of retro-wave inspired music,an interest in retro 80s games being remade, popular 80s movies being remade in modern settings, 80s-inspired fashion trends like retro shoes, etc.
Since Vice City has always been associated with an 80s setting and aesthetic, it almost makes sense thatGrand Theft Auto 6would make a triumphant return to Vice City. Only time will tell, but for now if there’s any concrete evidence fans can point to forGrand Theft Auto 6’s next setting, Vice City would be the prime choice.
San Fiero
A less likely choice forGrand Theft Auto’s setting, assuming it had to be a city/area that already exists in the franchise’s universe, would be San Fiero. Originally introduced inGrand Theft Auto: San Andreasas the game’s second city, San Fiero is an underrated and brief aspect ofSan Andreaswhere players didn’t spend too much time before going to Las Venturas and back to Los Santos. Even thoughGrand Theft Auto: San Andreasis often still considered the best entryin the franchise and praised for its massive scope, the San Fiero portion of the game was lackluster and brief.Grand Theft Auto’s symbolization of San Francisco could easily be re-vitalized for a more fleshed out, modern depiction.
San Francisco is not usually depicted in video games, receiving its onlyprominent recreation inWatch Dogs 2. That being said,Grand Theft Auto 6focusing entirely on San Fiero would be an interesting choice for the series, as it was a city that received little attention in its sole depiction in the franchise. In a way it could potentially bridge the gap between those who lovedGrand Theft Auto 5, but also wanted a more condensed and detailed city likeGrand Theft Auto 4’s Liberty City.
Even though San Francisco is vastly different from Los Angeles in our society, in a lot of ways it would make sense forGrand Theft Autoto leave San Fiero behind for now. With the massively successfulGrand Theft Auto 5wrapping up its own condensed version of the original San Andreas, it’s unlikely the series would return to another California-themed location right after. InGrand Theft Auto, at least conceptually, Los Santos and San Fiero are similar stereotypes of American society. San Fiero may return later on in the franchise, but right now the parodied San Francisco will probably lay dormant in the franchise.
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London
IfGrand Theft Auto6does return to a previous setting from the franchise, another possible (but perhaps most unlikely) choice would be London. Many younger fans may not realize that the firstGrand Theft Autogame had several free mission packs released (Grand Theft Auto: London 1969, Grand Theft Auto: London 1961)that focused on the titular British metro area. Even though these brief mission packs for the first game are often left forgotten by most players, they could easily serve as a potential starting point for the next game in the series.
Obviously, there’s not much reason or evidence pointing to a potential London setting forGrand Theft Auto 6, so it’s hard to assume the franchise may ever return to London at all, much less for a main title in the franchise. WithWatch Dogs: Legionsolidifying a London setting and already revealed, Rockstar has even less reason to visit London. That being said, ifGrand Theft Auto 6wanted to make the dark-horse pick for its setting, bringing back a fictional version of modern-day London would be the perfect twist.
A New City or Region
What’s most interesting is thatGrand Theft Auto 6could potentially take place in a unique setting, something never-before-seen in the series yet. Many of the rumors that have been circling in the last few years seem to suggestseveral new cities are being considered forGrand Theft Auto 6. According to a prominent leaker for the series, there are several settings being considered for the next game: Las Vegas, Chicago, Detroit, Mexico City, and even smaller scale United States towns/cities.
There was even a rumor thatGrand Theft Autocould visit several time periodsin US/world history, butGrand Theft Auto 6will likely stick to a modern setting. Since the past few “universes” have each featured three prominent games, andGrand Theft Auto 4and5all take place in the “HD universe,” there’s still one more entry to be included in the current universe. Pair that with the fact that the last universe prominently featured different US time periods as its main theme, there’s no reason whyGrand Theft Autowould deviate from its current formula.
Something important to consider is that the next-gen consoles, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, will be releasing holiday this year. If anotherGrand Theft Autogame comes out anytime soon, it’s definitely going to be slated for these new consoles, since outside of the remasterGrand Theft Autocompletely skipped this past console generation. It’s possible Rockstar’s development team may utilize the more powerful hardware to create a larger world in the nextGrand Theft Autogame.
AsSan Andreashas shown previously,Grand Theft Autois not necessarily constrained to one city at a time. While it’s not necessarily a technological gap, sinceGrand Theft Auto: Vice Citycame out on the PlayStation 2 withGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas, it’s possible that with new hardware players could see an even larger area to explore inGrand Theft Auto 6. Whether that’s somewhere completely new, or familiar territory for the franchise, remains to be seen.
While fans don’t know exactlywhenGrand Theft Auto 6is releasing, fans will have to continue waiting patiently until Rockstar graces them with official details onGrand Theft Auto 6.For now, there’s several likely (and not-so-likely) locations where the series could explore next, players will just have to wait and see what’s in store for the next game.
Grand Theft Auto 6is rumored to be in development.
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