Liberty City is traditionally seen as the “main” city of the ”Grand Theft Auto” series, as some of the most notable installments in the franchise have been set there, plus it’s been the most actively developed location so far, with several games taking place in it. However, when “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” came out, fans and critics fell in love with the original settings, and the game quickly rose to prominence as one of the favorite GTA titles of fans.
Currently, Rockstar have been hard at work developing new content for GTA 5, and releasing updates for its multiplayer. However, rumors indicate that the company has already laid the groundwork for the next installment in the series, and are currently deciding on the game’s location.
Vice City is allegedly one of the ideas that are being thrown around, while there have also been proposals to set the game in a real-life location like Paris, London or even Brazil. While it would be a bit strange to see a GTA game based on an actual real location, it’s not exactly something that would go too strongly against the grain of the game, and it could actually be a refreshing change.
Some reports indicate that Vice City is actually off the table as an idea, but considering these are just rumors at this point, nothing can really be confirmed one way or the other. It seems that Rockstar are trying to shake things up with the story too, continuing the trend they set in GTA 5. The fifth part of the franchise was the first one which gave players control over multiple different characters, an idea which was received very warmly by fans, while critics were also praising the change of pace.
The next GTA might introduce a female character into the mix as well, which would be a first for the series. It’s not known if the game will again feature multiple playable characters or if the developers will revert to the original style of focusing on one person, but some of the rumors point towards the possibility that Rockstar are going to continue the multi-character idea for the next game.
Whatever they decide to do, it’s obvious that the game is still a long time away. “Grand Theft Auto” games traditionally have long development cycles, and the company is still actively working on GTA 5 as well, releasing new content for it and polishing the game with regular updates. It would make sense that they finish that project first, so they can fully concentrate their creative workforce on the next installment and give it the attention that it deserves. 2018 has been pointed out as the earliest possibility for an official announcement.