The GTA series is known for its over-the-top and often controversial stories and gameplay, but one element of the franchise that often gets overlooked is its locations.
The explorable cities in the GTA games are all inspired by real-life places. While they all have at least a few recognizable landmarks and themes, the GTA versions are satirical takes that exaggerate the features of their real-world counterparts, often with hilarious results.
Rockstar Games has always been excellent at bringing cities to life in a unique and creative way, from the 2D maps of the first-generation GTA games to the sprawling and mind-blowingly detailed city of Los Santos in GTA 5. With this in mind, here are five locations that we’d love to see again in GTA 6.
1. Vice City
Vice City first appeared as a playable city in 2002’s GTA: Vice City, but hasn’t appeared in a GTA game since 2006’s Vice City Stories. As it’s been almost two decades since we last saw the city, Vice City is considered a front-runner as a location that will appear in the upcoming GTA.
Vice City perfectly lends itself to a current-gen makeover, as it was always one of the more colorful and eccentric cities in the GTA franchise. Inspired by Miami, Vice City was portrayed in the 2002 and the 2006 games as a bright, neon-colored beach city, with bikini-clad roller skaters, stretches of sandy beaches as far as the eye can see, and vibrant nightclubs. The city was limited by the technology of the time, so just imagine what Rockstar Games could do if it recreates Vice City for the current console generation.
I’m personally hoping Vice City will at least make a brief appearance in the next GTA, though it would be amazing if it could be a major location. Just imagine being able to explore the nightlife and the beaches, wreaking havoc on all those annoyingly tanned beachgoers with washboard abs. Please, Rockstar. Make it happen.
2. Liberty City
It’s unlikely Liberty City will be a major location in the next GTA, seeing as it already had its time to shine back in 2008’s GTA 4. It has also been the setting for various spin-offs, too, like 2005’s Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and 2009’s Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. That said, the gaming industry has seen massive leaps in technology since those releases, so it could still be possible to see a new and improved Liberty City in some capacity in the next GTA.
Liberty City is based on New York and had a particularly dull aesthetic in GTA 4. It would be interesting to see what Rockstar decides to do with its aesthetics in the future. Will the developer keep Liberty City’s gray and brown color palette or make things a little bit brighter, like other modern games?
With Insomniac Games creating a bright and endearing version of New York in the Marvel’s Spider-Man games, the developers at Rockstar have their work cut out for them if they want to create a New York-inspired city that is unique, engaging, and holds its own against the many other variants that are common in modern video games. If anyone can do it, though, we all know it’s Rockstar.
3. Las Venturas
The final three cities I’ll discuss comprise the fictional state of San Andreas from the GTA universe. The state is based on California and Nevada, and Las Venturas is a clear parody of the famous city of Las Vegas in Nevada. Las Venturas has only appeared in 2004’s Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, but there is plenty of potential for it to appear in the next game.
As you can imagine from a fictional city based on Las Vegas, Las Venturas is all about casinos, flashing lights, and big personalities. Much like Vice City, there is huge potential when it comes to bringing Las Venturas into the modern day. You could gamble at The Four Dragons Casino or at the Casino Floor and Caligula’s Palace in San Andreas, but the possibilities are endless when you consider what you could do in a new GTA game.
Returning to Las Venturas would also be a good reason to bring back Wu Zi Mu (AKA Woozie). In San Andreas, Woozie becomes a business partner and close friend of the protagonist, CJ. He is the leader of the local Triad gang, and although he is blind, he is incredibly skilled at driving, and combat, and even helps CJ out with a casino heist. His character would be older, but there is still a lot that could be done with him, especially if he has continued to maintain his hold over the Triads and is still in charge of the Four Dragons Casino. This would be a way to get a CJ cameo, too, so here’s to hoping for the return of Las Venturas and some of the characters who live there.
4. Los Santos
Los Santos was the primary setting of the most recent GTA installment, so it’s possible the next GTA game could be set there again. GTA 5 perfectly encapsulated the 2013 social media, money, and fame-obsessed culture prominent in Los Angeles—sorry, Los Santos—so if another game is set there in the modern day, it would be interesting to see how Rockstar depicts the past 10 years of change. I’m guessing the developer will be equally brutal, but I still want to see how it portrays the TikTok and influencer generation, and Los Santos would be the perfect city to do so.
Los Santos has tons of potential, as the fifth game demonstrated, making it a prime location to expand upon. That said, Los Santos had its time to shine in GTA 5, so maybe it’s time to let another city take center stage in GTA 6.
5. San Fierro
Last but not least is San Fierro, a satirical take on San Francisco in California, and another place only explored in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Much like Las Venturas, there is a lot of potential for a possible return to San Fierro.
San Fierro is an important area in San Andreas, as CJ sets up his base of operations there in the run-down Doherty Garage. The city would definitely create a feeling of nostalgia for fans of San Andreas, but with the right updates, it could also bring the city into the current generation of gaming.
San Francisco has always been something of an artsy city, so Rockstar Games would be spoiled for choice when it comes to creating some modern satire with a present-day San Fierro.
An updated San Fierro could also make for a beautiful location to explore, with landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge and the rolling hills of the countryside that surround the city easily able to become stunning visuals in the next GTA
There are also plenty of locations that could make for interesting missions. San Francisco is home to Silicon Valley, Chinatown, and the Alcatraz prison, all of which would be amazing San Fierro settings.
As with Las Venturas, the possibilities of expanding on San Fierro and bringing it into a modern-day GTA are incredibly exciting. It is definitely something that I hope to see in the next installments of GTA games, even if it is a little further down the line than GTA 6.
