Grand Theft Auto has built Liberty City three times and San Andreas three times. GTA VI's Vice City is the third Vice City. Fans sort them into three "universes": 2D, 3D and HD. The labels come from Rockstar, and they explain why Tommy Vercetti showing up in GTA 6 would be a bigger break with precedent than most cameo threads assume.
Below: what Rockstar said and where it said it, which game sits where, and why the Vice City in GTA VI is not the Vice City of 1986.
The rule, in Rockstar's words
OFFICIAL The clearest statement is in a Rockstar Newswire Q&A, "Grand Theft Auto III: Your Questions Answered – Part One (Claude, Darkel & Other Characters)". Wikipedia's citation dates it December 15, 2011, and it ran during GTA III's tenth anniversary. Rockstar was asked about characters carrying over between games. As quoted by GGRecon, it answered that "the 'universes' are the worlds interpreted at different definitions, 2d, 3d and high definition."
The rest of the answer is the part that matters. Rockstar said it felt "brands and radio/background characters would exist in both, but 3-dimensional characters would not," and then, directly: "so no, we don't believe any GTA3 characters could exist in the GTA4 universe." It also called this "the logic (as far as it could be considered logical) behind it," which tells you how strict Rockstar thinks the rule is. In the same answer it said El Burro, a gang boss from the original 1997 game, got a mention in GTA III because "he was also referenced in GTA 1, so it felt appropriate that he should cross 'universes'."
REPORTED A second account comes from Dan Houser, who co-wrote the series through GTA V. GGRecon quotes a November 2012 Guardian preview of GTA V in which the move to HD "created a schism in this fictional universe," leaving CJ, Toni and the rest as "mythical characters from a bygone era." In the same piece Houser reportedly said tying the stories of different games together "might be too mannered." The Guardian page wouldn't load for us, so we are relying on GGRecon's quotation, and from the excerpt it is not clear which words are Houser's and which are the writer's.
The universes are continuities, not graphics settings. Brands, radio hosts and minor background figures can turn up across them. Main characters from one continuity don't exist in another, which is what Rockstar's 2011 answer says.
Which games belong where
Rockstar's 2011 answer draws the line between GTA III and GTA IV. Where the handheld and spin-off games go isn't stated in that answer. The grouping below is the standard one, and it matches the release table in Wikipedia's series article.
| Universe | Games | Where they're set | Status for GTA VI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2D | Grand Theft Auto (1997); London 1969 and London 1961 expansions (1999); Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999) | Liberty City, Vice City and San Andreas as top-down cities; London | Closed. Its cities were rebuilt from scratch later. |
| 3D | GTA III (2001); Vice City (2002); San Andreas (2004); Advance (2004); Liberty City Stories (2005); Vice City Stories (2006). The 2021 Definitive Edition remasters belong here as well. | Liberty City, Vice City in the 1980s, San Andreas state | A separate continuity from the HD games, according to Rockstar's 2011 answer. |
| HD | GTA IV (2008); The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony (2009); Chinatown Wars (2009); GTA V and GTA Online (2013) | A rebuilt Liberty City; Los Santos and Blaine County | The continuity GTA VI is generally expected to join. |
| GTA VI | Grand Theft Auto VI (November 19, 2026) | The state of Leonida, including Vice City | Rockstar hasn't used the "HD universe" label for it in anything we found. |
For how the cities and recurring names connect across all of this, our universe connection map and GTA timeline lay out the links one game at a time.
Why 1986 Vice City and GTA VI's are different places
The original 1997 game had a top-down Vice City in the 2D universe. Vice City (2002) is set in 1986 and belongs to the 3D universe, along with its prequel, Vice City Stories. That is the Vice City of Tommy Vercetti, Lance Vance and Ricardo Diaz.
GTA VI's Vice City is a new build of the city in a new state, Leonida, alongside regions Rockstar has named on its site: Leonida Keys, Grassrivers, Port Gellhorn, Ambrosia and Mount Kalaga. Rockstar hasn't given a year, but its trailers are full of smartphones and social-media video, which puts the setting in the present day.
Under Rockstar's own rule, GTA VI's Vice City is not the 1986 city forty years later. It has the same name and is based on the same real city, but its history is separate. Liberty City is the precedent: GTA IV's version is not GTA III's, and Rockstar said so. Houser explained the rebuild in 2007, telling the UK's Official Xbox Magazine (as reported by GamesRadar) that "we've always wanted to do New York properly," and that with GTA III "we were dealing with so many technical issues" that making the city feel like a real place hadn't been a priority. The history of Vice City covers each version and the real Miami behind them.
What does carry over
Within one universe, continuity is real. GTA IV's characters live in the same world as GTA V's. Johnny Klebitz, who leads GTA IV's The Lost and Damned expansion, is killed by Trevor early in GTA V, as Looper recounts. That only makes sense because both games share a history.
Across universes, the 2011 answer allows for three kinds of overlap:
- Brands. Fictional companies, car makes and products recur across all three eras.
- Radio and background figures. Radio personalities and minor figures are the category Rockstar said could exist in both.
- Name-checks. El Burro is the example Rockstar gave of a deliberate reference reaching back to the 2D game.
Main characters are excluded. That's the line Rockstar drew in 2011.
GTA 6 cameos: what's known, which is very little
UNCONFIRMED Rockstar hasn't said whether any character from an earlier game appears in GTA VI, whether GTA VI shares a continuity with GTA IV and V, or whether the 2011 rule still applies. All of that is unknown until people play the game, and we'd treat any confident claim otherwise as a guess. That includes claims about Tommy Vercetti.
What is confirmed is small. OFFICIAL The Vintage Vice City Pack, the pre-order bonus for both editions, draws on the 2002 game. Push Square lists among its contents weapon patterns inspired by Tommy Vercetti. That's a cosmetic nod. Under the 2011 logic, a 3D-era protagonist can be referenced as a brand, a legend or a look without existing as a person in the game, and the pack fits that pattern.
Two other points are worth knowing before you read cameo threads:
- Dan Houser, the writer most associated with the earlier games' casts, didn't write GTA VI. He told IGN at LA Comic Con 2025: "It's not going to be a story I wrote or a character set that I developed" (as reported by PC Gamer). Whatever rules the new writing team follows, they haven't said.
- Rockstar's site lists the supporting cast it has confirmed: Cal Hampton, Boobie Ike, Dre'Quan Priest, Real Dimez, Raul Bautista and Brian Heder. None of them is a returning character. Our characters page tracks only what Rockstar has shown.
Reading cameo claims this week
Expect "returning character" claims within hours of November 19, along with real spoilers. Some ways to sort them:
- A familiar brand, station or radio voice is consistent with every past GTA and tells you nothing about continuity.
- A named 3D-era character referenced in dialogue or on a poster is a nod, like El Burro.
- A 3D-era main character appearing in person would contradict Rockstar's 2011 answer and would be real news. Before you believe it, wait for footage from a known outlet, not a cropped screenshot.
- An HD-era character from GTA IV or V appearing would fit inside the existing rules, so it's less surprising than it sounds.
If you'd rather find out for yourself, our spoiler-avoidance guide covers muting and filters for launch week. Claims about the game that we've graded are in the Fact Ledger.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is GTA 6 in the HD universe?
Rockstar hasn't used the HD universe label for GTA VI in anything we found. It's generally expected to join the HD continuity of GTA IV and V, but that isn't confirmed.
Is GTA 6's Vice City the same as GTA Vice City's?
No. Vice City (2002) is set in 1986 in the 3D universe. GTA VI rebuilds Vice City in the state of Leonida, and by Rockstar's 2011 rule the two have separate histories even though they share a name.
Will Tommy Vercetti be in GTA 6?
Unknown. Rockstar hasn't announced any returning characters. The Vintage Vice City Pack includes weapon patterns inspired by Tommy Vercetti, according to Push Square, but that's a cosmetic nod. It doesn't mean the character appears.
What did Rockstar say about the GTA universes?
In a 2011 Newswire Q&A, Rockstar said the universes are worlds interpreted at different definitions (2D, 3D and high definition). Brands and radio or background characters can exist in more than one, but main 3D characters don't, so no GTA III characters could exist in the GTA IV universe.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Grand Theft Auto (series), universes section and Rockstar Newswire citation
- GGRecon: Rockstar Confirms Grand Theft Auto Multiverse
- Looper: Why Johnny Klebitz was really killed off in GTA 5
- Push Square: GTA 6 Ultimate Edition and more detailed ahead of pre-orders
- Wikipedia: Grand Theft Auto VI
- GamesRadar: Why GTA IV is set in Liberty City