What city is GTA 7 based on?

As an avid fan following every tidbit of news in the lead up to the inevitable Grand Theft Auto 6 announcement, excitement is already building for what comes after – namely, GTA 7. And if I were a betting man, I’d say there’s a strong possibility Rockstar returns to Vice City – the beloved fictional recreation of 1980’s Miami featured in 2002’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

Now I know what you’re thinking – shouldn’t our focus still be squarely on GTA 6 until Rockstar confirms otherwise? Obviously yes, but hear me out on why going back to Vice City in GTA 7 makes too much sense for Rockstar to pass up.

Vice City‘s Storied History as One of GTA’s Most Iconic Settings

It’s hard to overstate Vice City’s importance not just to the GTA series itself, but to wider gaming culture. Up until GTA 3 pioneered the 3D open world crime genre in 2001, the series was still viewed as a niche top-down shooter.

But by embracing its Scarface-inspired setting soaked in gaudy 80’s aesthetic unlike anything gamers had experienced, GTA: Vice City took the burgeoning franchise fully mainstream. It currently stands as the 4th highest selling video game of all time – not too shabby!

Fans and critics alike consider Vice City one of Rockstar’s finest open worlds, ranking highly on lists like this one from TheGamer. For an entire generation like myself who missed out on experiencing the sunny excess of the 1980s firsthand, Vice City let us live out that fantasy.

I still have vivid memories roleplaying as Tommy Vercetti, buying outrageous printed shirts to match my bright green sports car while blasting Hall & Oates driving down neon-lined Ocean Drive. In my mind, Vice City distills everything fun and irreverent about Rockstar’s satirical lens into one vibrant paradise.

How Today’s Technology Could Realize Vice City’s Full Potential

As fondly as I recall GTA: Vice City, I have to admit – compared to recent Rockstar cities like Los Santos or Liberty City, it does feel somewhat quaint. The entire map encompasses merely one large island and a few smaller outposts perfect for jetski exploration.

Just check out this map overlay comparison courtesy of Digital Trends contributor Will Fulton:

Look how much geographical scope Rockstar has added to cities as hardware improved between GTA titles. Now picture if Rockstar devoted modern graphical processing power not just to Vice City’s urban core, but outlying Everglades regions filled with airboats, alligator hunting, and murky wetland secrets connecting remote beach towns up the Atlantic coast. Considering Red Dead Redemption 2‘s vibrant marshlands, Rockstar could pull it off beautifully.

Miami itself has expanded rapidly in population and economic importance since Vice City’s 1980s heyday. According to census data, metro Miami’s population has ballooned over 30% since 2000. Even with unpredictable hurricane seasons annually threatening disaster, over 111 million tourists visited Greater Miami in 2018 alone – that’s more than famed hotspots like Paris or Rome!

Simply put – there’s no city quite like Miami dominating popular imagination right now. Between smash hit TV dramas, the ubiquity of Latin pop royalty like Bad Bunny, and its international recognition as a New World hub welcoming immigrants across Latin America and the Caribbean, Miami owns American cool in 2022.

Doesn’t that sound like the perfect inspiration for Rockstar’s scintillating yet scathing satire of the American Dream run amok? An entire industry of exploitative celebrity DJs, shady off-shore finance moguls, and slimy reality developers fill Miami’s club scene, luxury condos, and exclusive beach resorts just begging for comeuppance from GTA’s trademark antisocial protagonists.

Trust me – after seeing Oscar Isaac absolutely own the role of a sleazy yet irresistible Miami nightclub owner in HBO’s Scenes From A Marriage, I need Rockstar’s writing talent to concoct their own Vice City crime lord navigating family drama amidst the high stakes drug trade and class divides running Miami’s party scene. Make it happen, Dan Houser!

Examining Existing Rumors and Speculations Around Vice City’s Chances

Alright, time to slip briefly from my gaming critic hat into full blown fan conspiracy mode. I of course have been glued to every supposed “leak” around GTA 6 and beyond for years now, tracking patterns and parsing out what holds legitimacy versus lonely attention seekers on message boards.

While alleged Liberty City returns persist, Vice City consistently emerges not just among supposed insiders like YouTuber MrBossFTW, but general fan consensus for the next city after GTA 6’s long-rumored Miami.

After all, Rockstar has followed a pattern dating back to GTA 1 of reimagining previous cities alongside new locales with each console generation’s improved hardware. Along those lines, acclaimed industry insider Chris Klippel stoked fan excitement last July with this reply on Twitter:

GTA 7‘s location name is still written in pencil but starts with a V 😉

— Chris Klippel (@Chris_Klippel) July 11, 2022

Considering his impressive track record first leaking Red Dead Redemption 2 details, that coy reference holds significant weight among the rumor mill. As does this alleged 4chan leak portraying GTA 7’s story revolving around drug and human trafficking rings in an upgraded Vice City environment.

While internet rumors obviously demand copious grains of salt, this much smoke makes me believe hardcore fans aren’t alone visualizing an overdue return.

Why This Passionate GTA Fan Says Vice City in GTA 7 Simply Makes Too Much Sense

Maybe I just can’t let go of nostalgic Vice City dreams since 2002. But I genuinely believe all signs point to Rockstar revisiting a modern Vice City as the next GTA city after they complete Dan Houser’s magnum Miami opus in GTA 6. Hopefully they take inspiration from shows like Dexter and movies like Bad Boys for Life to push satirical boundaries.

Given PS5 and Xbox Series X power, could you imagine an open world reflecting Miami’s explosive population boom across architectural styles old and new? The biodiversity? From historic art deco hotels to sleek high rise nightclub towers to trendy beach pubs perfect for docking stolen yachts?

And that’s just the urban core! Revitalizing the Everglades offers so many gameplay possibilities compared to Vice City’s truncated scope. Hunt alligators Red Dead-style or flee fearful drug runners into humid caverns! Why not incorporate Cuba too building on Scarface’s legacy? The potential feels limitless.

Frankly, after players undoubtedly spend countless hours exploring GTA 6’s Miami, they’ll crave more of that iconic southeast Florida flavor. And I bet that hunger ultimately drives Rockstar back towards Vice City‘s glistening beaches and swaying palms.

Mark my words – when neon pink Ocean Drive lights glimmer again in GTA 7’s trailers, I’ll proudly proclaim vindication linking back to this very post! What can I say, a Vice City homecoming sounds like a tropical paradise even nombreous delays couldn‘t cloud for this forever GTA fan.

So to any Rockstar devs somehow reading this – take your time perfecting GTA 6, but also know exactly where you should set your sights next! The streets of Vice City eagerly await open world redemption. Just picture blasting hair metal hijacking jetskis under palm tree sunsets again…