Grand Theft Auto 6 is heading back to Vice City, and for Dan Houser, Rockstar's former lead writer and co-founder, the choice makes perfect sense. After two decades away from the Miami-inspired setting, the franchise is returning to its neon-soaked streets for good reason.
Houser recently explained on the Lex Fridman podcast why GTA keeps gravitating toward Miami, New York, and Los Angeles.
You know, there's a reason why GTA kept coming back to Miami, New York, Los Angeles. I think they're all very good for exactly what you laid out. You know, you could move it to any of those and it would work, you know? There's a melting pot aspect to LA. You know, there's glitz, glamour, underbelly, immigrants, you know, enormous wealth in all of them. I think those are what, I think, are really fun for any, not even just the GTA, but for anything where you want a kind of slice of life, almost like a sort of psychotic version of a Dickens book.
This tension creates exactly what GTA thrives on, what Houser describes as a psychotic version of a Dickens novel where different walks of life collide in messy, chaotic ways.
