Vice City Then and Now: 1986 vs 2026 — How GTA 6 Rebuilds Rockstar’s Neon City

In 2002, Rockstar dropped us into Vice City in 1986: pastel suits, synth-pop on the radio and a crime story borrowed from Scarface and Miami Vice. On November 19, 2026, Grand Theft Auto VI takes us back to the same city — but four decades later, in a present-day version full of phone cameras, social media and viral chaos.

This guide looks at Vice City then and now, 1986 vs 2026: what the original game actually was, what Rockstar has officially confirmed about the new city, which landmarks and names are coming back, and what is still only rumour. Every GTA 6 detail below is separated into confirmed, hinted or unconfirmed, so you know exactly what to trust.

Vice City Then and Now at a Glance (1986 vs 2026)

40 Years of Vice City in One Timeline

Vice City is older than most people remember. It first appeared in the top-down original Grand Theft Auto in 1997, got its famous 3D version in 2002, a 1984 prequel in 2006, and now returns for the first time in a mainline GTA in over two decades.

Vice City in 1986: Why the Original Still Matters

Rockstar North chose a period setting on purpose. After the gritty, modern Liberty City of GTA III, the team wanted to satirise a place frozen in a past era — and mid-80s Miami, with its neon, money and drug wars, was perfect material.

Tommy Vercetti and a Hollywood cast

Tommy Vercetti was the series’ first fully voiced protagonist, played by Goodfellas star Ray Liotta. Sent south by his Liberty City boss Sonny Forelli, Tommy loses the money in an ambushed drug deal and slowly takes over the whole city. The supporting cast included Dennis Hopper, Tom Sizemore, Danny Trejo and Gary Busey — a lineup that made the game feel like an 80s crime movie you could drive around in.

The neighbourhoods everyone remembers

The 1986 map was split across two main islands: the beach strip with Ocean Beach, Washington Beach and Vice Point on the east, and the mainland with Little Havana, Little Haiti, Downtown and Viceport on the west. Starfish Island held the mansion that became the Vercetti Estate, and the Malibu Club was the nightclub at the centre of Tommy’s empire.

Radio that defined a generation

Nine stations — including Flash FM, V-Rock, Fever 105, Wildstyle and Emotion 98.3 — turned the soundtrack into part of the gameplay. For many players outside the US, including a lot of us in Nepal who played it on a PS2 or a cyber-cafe PC, this was the first time we heard much of 80s American pop at all.

Vice City in 2026: What GTA 6 Has Confirmed

The new Vice City is not a remake. It is the Miami-inspired heart of Leonida, Rockstar’s fictional take on Florida. Rockstar has officially named six regions: Vice City, Leonida Keys, Grassrivers, Port Gellhorn, Ambrosia and Mount Kalaga National Park. Interestingly, Rockstar never actually writes “Florida” or “Miami” on its GTA VI site — that link is how everyone reads it, and the geography backs it up.

Neighbourhoods Rockstar names

Rockstar’s official Vice City description highlights four areas: the pastel Art Deco hotels and white sands of Ocean Beach, the panaderias of Little Cuba, the knock-off brands of the Tisha-Wocka flea market, and VC Port, which Rockstar bills as the world’s cruise-ship capital. Rockstar’s pre-order and edition material also mentions Southside Vice City.

What the August 2026 Extended Look showed

On August 27, 2026, Rockstar released Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look, roughly 26 minutes of footage captured on a base PS5. It was the first proper look at the city in motion, and it showed how differently the new Vice City is built:

• Seamless switching between Jason and Lucia, even mid-mission.
• A returning six-star wanted system, plus a Criminal Profile that tracks how each character behaves.
• Everyday life: basketball, kayaking, gator hunting, lying on the beach and scrolling in-game social media feeds.
• Modern transport such as e-scooters, something that would have been science fiction in Tommy’s 1986.

Music: from licensed 80s hits to a 34-track album

On September 17, 2026, Rockstar and Atlantic Records announced Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album, 34 original songs releasing the same day as the game, with artists such as Travis Scott, Future, Metro Boomin, Morgan Wallen and Keith Richards. That album is separate from the in-game radio, which Rockstar says is being reworked. So far, V-Rock is the only station officially confirmed — a direct throwback to 1986.

Same Streets, New Era: Landmarks Then vs Now

This is the question every returning fan asks. Here is every 1986 name with a link to GTA 6, ranked by how solid the evidence is.

Green = confirmed by Rockstar. Orange = Rockstar uses the name or shows it, but has not placed it on a map. Pink = no official mention yet. Rockstar has not released a full map; a Leonida map poster ships in the Vice City Collection box on November 19.

Culture Then vs Now: Cocaine Cowboys to Content Creators

That shift is the real story of Vice City then and now. Tommy’s 1986 was about building a criminal empire nobody could see; Jason and Lucia’s Vice City is a place where everything is filmed, posted and judged.

Gameplay Then vs Now

The Vintage Vice City Pack: 1986 Inside 2026

Rockstar itself is leaning into the then-and-now theme. Everyone who pre-orders GTA 6 (any edition) before November 20, 2026 gets the Vintage Vice City Pack, a set of callbacks to the 2002 game:

The garage is the most useful item: it has a weapon locker and a secure spot to drop stolen goods for fencing. For collectors, Rockstar also announced The Goodtime State – Vice City Collection ($399.99, game not included), which includes a double-sided poster with the full Leonida map.

The Real City Behind Both Versions

Both Vice Cities are love letters to Miami, but to two very different Miamis. The 1986 game captured the city as pop culture saw it then: the Miami Vice TV era, South Beach Art Deco and the drug-trade headlines of the early 80s. GTA 6 swaps that for the Florida of today — luxury high-rises, cruise terminals, swamp towns and the internet’s favourite “only in Florida” stories. The neon is the same; the reasons it glows are not.

What We Still Don’t Know

• Exact map size — Rockstar has not published a figure; all numbers online are fan estimates.
• The full radio lineup — only V-Rock is official. Emotion 98.3 has appeared in leaks but is unconfirmed.
• Whether the Malibu Club or Starfish Island return as real locations.
• Where the Vercetti Estate sits and whether it is a visitable place.

We will update this comparison after launch day, once the map can be explored properly.

How to Revisit 1986 Before November 19

Want to play the “then” before the “now”? The remastered GTA Vice City is part of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, available on current consoles and PC. Replaying the first few missions is a great way to spot callbacks in GTA 6 — Ocean Beach, Washington Beach and V-Rock will hit differently.

Then get ready for launch with our GTA 6 launch checklist, and if you are buying locally, check the GTA 6 price in Nepal. More explainers live in our GTA 6 guides section.

FAQ: Vice City Then and Now