Vice City
The eighties are far behind, but Vice City has retained its title as the entertainment capital
Everything in Excess
We're a long way from the '80s, but Vice City is still the sun and fun capital of America.
The glamour, hustle, and greed of America captured in a single city. Each neighborhood has something to offer, from the pastel art deco hotels and bright white sands of Ocean Beach, to the bustling panaderías of Little Cuba and the bootleg brands of the Tisha-Wocka flea market, out to the VC Port, the cruise ship capital of the world.
Vice City is a major city due to appear in Grand Theft Auto VI, located in the State of Leonida. It is the most populous and densely populated city in the state and serves as a coastal metropolis renowned for its sun-soaked climate, vibrant 1980s-inspired atmosphere, and is widely regarded as the entertainment capital of the United States. The city is directly based on modern Miami, Florida.
Vice City is a hub for narcotrafficking, money laundering, and organized crime, historically centered around cocaine smuggling, and has attracted a diverse population from around the world. The city’s port is one of the busiest in the world, supporting commercial, criminal, and tourism activity.
Geographically, the city lies on low-lying plains along a bay and includes several natural and artificial barrier islands, with the largest hosting the resort area of Vice Beach. Vice City’s skyline features skyscrapers, condominiums, and a mix of modern and retro architecture reflecting both its 1980s character and 21st-century updates.
The city has also faced natural disasters, crime localized to poorer neighborhoods, and evolving drug trends, from cocaine and methamphetamine to more unusual substances, all shaping its reputation for excess and danger.
Vice City was first referenced in the HD Universe in GTA 4 and GTA: Chinatown Wars and remains one of the most iconic urban settings in the series.
Crime
Organized crime in Vice City has been primarily driven by cocaine trafficking since the 1980s.
In the late 2000s, traffickers smuggled cocaine to Russian mobsters in Liberty City, including associates of the now-defunct Rascalov Mafiya. One of Dimitri Rascalov’s men, Andriy Maximov, was arrested after being caught with a boatload of cocaine brought from Vice City.
Smugglers frequently use speedboats and narcosubs to move drugs in and out of Leonida.
Crime is concentrated in poorer neighborhoods and areas with high immigrant populations, such as La Perle and Little Cuba.
Liberty City-based mobsters have operated in Vice City and nearby areas, including the Gambetti Crime Family’s former lead successor Sammy Bottino, wanted for murder around 2007.
Methamphetamine became widespread around 2008, disrupting the local cocaine trade.
Around 2019, a cannabis-based drug called "Zombie" reportedly caused users to commit acts of cannibalism.
By the mid-2020s, the Vice City government runs “neighborhood enhancement teams” to improve safety, including an office at the Rockridge Community Resource Center.
Choice of City
Vice City has long been a players’ favorite setting in the GTA series, and Rockstar has hinted at revisiting it in future titles. Former Rockstar North President Leslie Benzies discussed the city’s potential return in an interview with Adam Rosenberg from Digital Trends, reflecting on the 10th anniversary of GTA: Vice City. He noted that Vice City is part of the HD Universe and that the developers would love to explore it again, while emphasizing the city’s iconic 1980s atmosphere.
In the interview, Benzies said:
It is always a possibility. There are a few references to the city in our current-gen GTAs so it is part of that HD universe, and it is certainly somewhere we would love to revisit. However Vice City, perhaps more than any other GTA game, was as much about the era as the setting. Miami in the 1980’s is so iconic it would feel strange to revisit the city in a different time period.
Of course at some point we would like to have one big world containing all our cities and let the player fly between them and revisit their favorite areas, and in that context reimagining Vice City would be very interesting.
Screenshots
Postcard
Artworks
References
GTA 4 & EFLC
Vice City is promoted on multiple FlyUS billboards at Francis International Airport.
A radio report states that Jerry Kapowitz discovered the diamonds sought by Niko Bellic, Patrick McReary, Ray Bulgarin, Ray Boccino and the Jewish Mob, and intends to open a liquor and gun shop in Vice City.
In the vehicle statistics of Grand Theft Auto IV, one “miles traveled” rank measures the distance from Liberty City to Vice City.
Lazlow Jones, host of Integrity 2.0, often reminisces about his time as a V-Rock DJ in 1980s Vice City.
During the mission “Catch the Wave,” it is revealed that the drugs at the boatyard arrived from Vice City.
Roman Bellic texts Niko saying that completing a deal with Dimitri Rascalov could earn them enough money to fly by private jet to Vice City.
After unlocking Roman’s car service ability, he complains via text about his taxis constantly being sent to the airport for elderly passengers arriving from Vice City.
Sammy Bottino is mentioned as having criminal charges filed against him in Vice City.
In multiplayer, female character model hat #3 (available from rank 0) features the slogan “I ♥ VC.”
Iggy from Liberty Rock Radio talks about planning a move to Vice City, describing it as cleaner than Liberty City.
A spin-off of The Science of Crime is titled “The Science of Crime: Vice City,” referencing CSI: Miami.
Hossan Ramzy sends Niko an email saying he deserted his ship in Leonida.
Near Playboy X’s loft, a “VICE” graffiti tag can be seen if exiting via the broken balcony route.
Graffiti reading “Vice Squad,” referencing the Vice City Police Department’s elite unit, appears around Liberty City.
Weazel News reports that Andriy Maximov was stopped by the LCPD while transporting cocaine from Vice City for the Russian Mafia.
Joshua Hampton, the infant accused of killing his father, allegedly claimed he planned to marry his mother in Vice City because unusual behavior is accepted there.
On Blogsnobs.org, a blog by a 47-year-old feminist from Vice City is featured.
On Liesdamnlies.net, several users such as Bermuda Triangle, Taos Hum, Majestic12 and The Ripper Lives list Vice City as their location.
Albert Thomas writes on the Liberty Tree website that meth has ruined the cocaine trade in Vice City; Weazel News reporter John Chesapeake echoes this claim.
A Liberty Tree article reports that an intoxicated pilot nearly killed 200 passengers on an Air Sol flight from Vice City to Francis International Airport.
Washington Beach is cited on a website as the location of one of its highlighted high schools.
According to their official website, the Angels of Death operate in the South, where they run a theme park and sell branded merchandise including bed linen, books, party kits, diapers and even sex toys.
Vice City is engraved on the USA Cities Wall inside the Rotterdam Tower alongside San Fierro, Los Santos, Las Venturas and Liberty City.
Yusuf Amir complains to Luis Fernando Lopez that he took a private jet to Vice City and spent two weeks with prostitutes to recover from test-driving exotic cars.
The exclusive radio station Vice City FM specializes in 1980s music, with Fernando Martinez returning as its DJ after previously working on radio in the 3D Universe games.
Al Di Napoli claims to live in Vice City and suggests to Luis Lopez and Tony Prince that they expand their nightclub business there, but Luis dismisses Vice City as just a retirement destination.
Failing the mission “Ladies’ Night” by getting too close to Patrick McReary triggers a conversation between Luis Lopez and Tony, where they mention needing to escape to Vice City or Los Santos and that Tony should call about it.
On the TV show The Men’s Room with Bas and Jeremy, a caller named Paula phones in and says she is calling from Vice City.
Pedestrians may shout lines such as “I should’ve gone to Vice!” after being knocked down.
At the end of “Practice Swing,” Luis advises Tony to take a vacation in Vice City or perhaps the Caribbean.
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Some drug dealers may tip off Huang Lee, saying that if he sells them enough of a specific type of drugs, he could one day earn enough money to “retire in sleepy Vice City.”
GTA 5
On Blaine County Radio, during the show Bless Your Heart, host Bobby June advertises a tanning spray named after Vice City.
On Bleeter, the band Sorry Commode apologizes to Vice City fans for missing a concert due to local drug use.
A tour poster for OG Loc in Franklin Clinton’s safehouse lists venues in Los Santos, Liberty City, Vice City, and Las Venturas.
On the Chains of Intimacy website, there is a quote from a book review taken from the Vice City Sentinel newspaper.
On a billboard in Hawick, a woman who appears to be Toni is shown sponsoring Vinewood Sports LS.
A pedestrian may yell “I’m moving to Vice City!” if their car is stolen; paramedics can say the same after a failed revival attempt.
In the film Rum Runner by Richards Majestic Productions, the hero Eddie Olson moves to Vice City after a rival booze smuggler shoots his crippled lover. There, he becomes an insurance agent with a fetish for girls in wheelchairs.
In the CNT cartoon Gordon Moorehead Rides Again, the hero Gordon Moorehead and his assistant Molly Malmstein move from Vice Beach to Vinewood.
In the TV show Impotent Rage, the titular hero’s parents are said to be immigrants from Vice City.
Towels with “I ♥ VC” printed on them can be found at Vespucci Beach and on motel railings.
Hidden within the iFruit app files is an unused, decorative Vice City license plate design.
The “Welcome to Chumash” sign notes an Excellence Award from Vice City Hikers.
The Senora Beacon reports that the FIB shut down a Vice City branch of Lombank for drug money laundering.
GTA Online
A Yukon advertisement depicts the Skunk Ape, known as the Florida version of Bigfoot.
On iFruit Radio, Danny Brown mentions that “Zombie” marijuana is popular in Vice City.