- GTA Vice City was released one year after GTA 3 and instantly became a massive hit.
- A developer revealed it was merely an expansion for GTA 3 at first.
- This game’s setting was an iconic part of its popularity, and Rockstar is revisiting it in GTA 6.
Rockstar released GTA Vice City in 2002. Considered one of the best games from the studio, Vice City itself has become an iconic part of the Grand Theft Auto franchise.
As an extremely memorable and well-designed city, Vice City provided hours of enjoyment to millions of gamers worldwide. However, a Rockstar developer has recently revealed an interesting fact about this location and game.
GTA Vice City was initially planned as a mission pack for GTA 3.
Why it matters: This example is not an isolated one and highlights the changing nature of games. Quite a few projects are completely transformed by the time they are released.
Rockstar North technical director Obbe Vermeij revealed this information in a recent blog post. He stated:
“Originally, it was supposed to be a mission pack to GTA 3.”
However, this decision was changed once GTA 3 showed its potential to the world 22 years ago. Following the incredible success of this entry, Rockstar planned to pursue the project as a standalone game with more content.
Furthermore, GTA Vice City initially reused the code from its predecessor until programmers could work on new code. This meant that it was almost a miracle the project turned out as good as it did.
Thus, GTA Vice City was born as a separate release. The developer further described that it was very difficult for the team to work on the project as the expectations of fans became much higher after GTA 3.
He explained that GTA Vice City became harder as a project because of this success. However, the team was able to pull through because:
“Everybody just powered through on adrenaline.”
According to leaks from last year, Rockstar is gearing up to revisit Vice City in GTA 6. As a much more modern game, its world will be significantly larger, but fans can expect to visit iconic locations from this 2002 entry.
GTA 6 is days away from an official reveal, with Rockstar confirming a trailer for December. Therefore, fans will finally see this city again, highlighting its significance after it was planned as nothing more than a DLC pack in 2001.
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[News Reporter]
Bawal is an MBBS student by day and a gaming journalist by night. He has been gaming since childhood, growing fond of the creativity and innovation of the industry. His career as a gaming journalist started one year ago, and his journey has allowed him to write reviews, previews, and features for various sites. Bawal has also been cited in reputed websites such as Screenrant, PCGamesN, WCCFTech, GamesRadar, and more.
