Former Rockstar Lead Dev Casts Vote for Best Opening Intro in GTA Franchise

A game's opening sequences set the tone and Rockstar Games are masters at it. Every GTA game establishes its unique charm right from the get-go, but even in a franchise made up of all-timers, some stand out compared to others. While Grand Theft Auto 4 (which still hasn't gotten a remaster for some reason) is a favorite among fans, a particularly vocal former Rockstar Games developer thinks different.

If you've been following GTA news at all recently, his name should be familiar - however this time he's not spilling beans on old development details. In a reply to a fan on X who tagged him on a post that proclaimed GTA 4 as the entry with "best title intro out of all the GTA games," Obbe Vermeij made his pick known, saying, "No. Vice City is the best."

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which came out in 2002, is the next game after Grand Theft Auto 3. Unlike GTA 3, Vice City featured Thomas "Tommy" Vercetti, who was played by the late Ray Liotta, as a fully voiced protagonist. The intro does an excellent job of setting up who Vercetti is, with the Forellis talking about his release from jail and his impact on the city.

It isn't like Vermeij is just biased, either. Vermeij worked on all mainline GTA games before Grand Theft Auto 5. For him to cast a vote for the 2002 title carries weight considering his background. Vermeij hasn't been involved in GTA for over a decade, but his experience with the GTA franchises makes him a valuable source, especially given that Rockstar is known for maintaining its secrecy.

Unfortunately, we can't ask Vermeij for more info about upcoming titles like Grand Theft Auto 6, which will bring a modernized version of the fictional Vice City to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X next year.

However, it would be interesting to see if Vermeij has any opinions about "canceled" features for Vice City that have never made it to other GTA titles that he'd like to see in GTA 6, or what he thinks about this particularly obvious nod to Vice City's protagonist in the first GTA 6 trailer.

Vice City remains one of the most popular games in the franchise and is part of a convenient trilogy bundle, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition. Rockstar has been improving the controversial release lately with the help of a new studio, which its former developers aren't too happy with.

The GTA Remastered Trilogy is currently available to play on modern consoles, iOS, Android, and Netflix, but it will be leaving the streaming service soon.