Highlights
- GTA 6's return to Vice City may disappoint players wanting a fresh start, but Rockstar can still innovate by incorporating the iconic Vercetti estate into the story and gameplay.
- Assuming GTA 6 is set in the modern day, the Vercetti estate could be a run-down shell and potential starting base for players to build their own criminal empire.
- By including the Vercetti estate in GTA 6, Rockstar could bring back familiar characters like Ken Rosenberg and Mercedes, adding new twists and showdowns to the game's narrative.
Despite being one of the most highly anticipated video games currently in development, players still don’t know what to expect from Grand Theft Auto 6. Although videos from a leaked build of GTA 6 posted online in 2022 gave gamers some idea of what the next entry in Rockstar’s long-running crime simulator has in store, the developer has remained tight-lipped about the details. If long-standing rumors about GTA 6 returning to the iconic, sun-and-sin-soaked Vice City prove to be true, though, then Rockstar needs to give players a chance to revisit one of its most iconic locations.
Returning to Vice City could disappoint gamers hoping for GTA 6 to be a fresh start for Rockstar, but heading back to the series’ old stomping grounds doesn’t mean Rockstar can’t innovate in other ways. Although GTA 5 similarly returned to a past location, there were surprisingly few threads connecting GTA 5’s San Andreas to the game bearing the city’s name. Rockstar could change this with its reportedly Vice City-set GTA 6 by letting players visit one of the most iconic locations from its 2002 forbearer, the Vercetti estate, and incorporating the sprawling criminal compound into the story and gameplay.
GTA 6 Should Let Players Visit What Remains of the Vercetti Estate
Assuming that GTA 6 is set in the modern day, by the time players return to Vice City it’ll have been nearly 40 years since the events of GTA: Vice City. While the city’s criminal elements will undoubtedly still be out in force, the balance of power in Vice City is likely to have shifted substantially in the decades since Tommy Vercetti’s rise to power. Given the death of Ray Liotta in 2022 it’s unlikely that Tommy will be making an appearance in a Vice City-centric GTA 6, but the massive mansion the mobster called home can still play a role in the game.
Already middle-aged during the events of GTA: Vice City and engaged in a decidedly dangerous line of work, it’s likely that career criminal Tommy Vercetti would have passed away by the time GTA 6 begins. This would create an opening for making the Vercetti estate a run-down shell of its former self and a potential starting base for players as they build their own criminal empire. An early mission could task players with clearing out gang members squatting in the once-opulent estate before taking control of it. With the Vercetti estate now in players’ hands, holding onto it could play an important role in GTA 6’s story.
Taking Control of the Vercetti Estate in GTA 6 Could Draw Some Familiar Faces Out of the Shadows
If Rockstar incorporates the Vercetti estate into GTA 6’s story rather than simply including it as a callback for franchise fans, it could serve as the impetus for bringing some classic GTA characters back into the fold. One character that would fit well with missions centered around the Vercetti estate would be Tommy’s former criminal lawyer and series mainstay, Ken Rosenberg. Last seen working with GTA: San Andreas’ protagonist Carl Johnson, an elderly Rosenberg could be back in Vice City trying to profit off the legacy of his former boss.
With Tommy Vercetti out of the picture, another figure vying for control of Vice City’s now-leaderless criminal underworld in GTA 6 could be GTA: Vice City’s Mercedes. The wild child daughter of GTA: Vice City’s Colonel Cortez, Mercedes could be attempting to reassemble the pieces of Tommy’s shattered criminal empire. Seizing the Vercetti estate would likely be good optics for Mercedes as she consolidated power in the city, setting up a potential showdown with players for control of Tommy’s former home.
It remains to be seen if GTA 6 will return to Vice City but, if Rockstar does go that route, it should ensure that one of the city’s most famous landmarks gets a second chance to shine. By incorporating the Vercetti estate into GTA 6, Rockstar could pay tribute to the series’ past while also delivering some intriguing new gameplay and narrative twists to the franchise.
GTA 6 is in development.