When the trailer for GTA VI dropped earlier this week – the location of Vice City was confirmed.
It had long been suspected that would be where main gameplay would take place due to leaks.
Then the 1 December trailer announcement added fuel to that fire due to the palm tree motifs.
READ MORE! The real reason GTA VI trailer was released a day early
Its skyline and beaches have long had fans of GTA believing that Vice City is based on the city of Miami.
And this week’s trailer from Rockstar contained more crumbs to add to that suspicion.
However content creator, Joel Franco, took to Instagram to share how similar the real-life Miami is to its fictional counterpart.
He shot sunny images of South Beach with palm trees and high-rise buildings in the background.
These were shot in real life using a drone.
However, put them side by side with footage of Vice Beach from GTA VI – and you can scarcely tell them apart.
In fact, his followers seemed to think that Vice Beach looked more like Miami Beach than the real world Miami Beach.
“Rockstar really did their homework on this one,” said one.
“Real one needs a graphics update,” said a second.
“They even copied the plane that flies around with the Club Space banner,” said another.
The banner in question sparked wild speculation this week about the drop date for the game itself.
While we know GTA VI is coming in 2025, the banner reads: “Why Sixty Nine When You Can Nine 1 Nine?”
Fans believed it was an Easter egg.
9.19.2025 Mark my Words,” one said.
“9/19/25 CONFIRMED,” a second confirmed.
“9th September 2025?” chimed yet another.
However, one sceptic debunked the theory.
“Its a reference of E11even Miami, a really famous club in Miami,” they said.
“This has to be an E11even parody,” confirmed another.
Rockstar confirmed in the trailer footage that the state is called ‘Leonida’.
Since Vice City is inspired by Miami, it suggests the fictional state is based on Florida.
It’s a reference to Spanish explorer, Juan Ponce de León, who led the first European expedition to Florida in 1513.
The reference now makes a lot of sense.
“Only in Leonida” seemed to refer to the “Only in Florida” trope – and there’s even a ‘Leonida man’.
