5 reasons why GTA Vice City is still popular in 2025

Modified Apr 16, 2025 10:07 GMT

Rockstar Games released GTA Vice City in October 2002, and it is still a popular game in 2025. Despite having old graphics and gameplay features, the game has surprisingly kept players engaged to date. It was one of the most iconic titles from Rockstar that stood the test of time with its storyline, characters, side activities, and humor.

While various factors make GTA Vice City interesting, this article lists five reasons why it is popular in 2025.

Note: Some parts of this article are subjective and reflect the writer’s opinions.

5 factors that make GTA Vice City still popular in 2025

1) Impact of GTA 6

Grand Theft Auto 6’s popularity has a huge impact on Vice City (Image via Rockstar Games)

Ever since Rockstar confirmed that GTA 6 would take place in Vice City, the popularity of GTA Vice City has also increased. Even though both games take place in different universes, the first Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer showed various locations (with modern changes) from the 2002 title. Therefore, we can expect the upcoming game to have many references to its 3D Universe counterpart.

If you haven’t played Vice City yet, we suggest you finish it before the release of GTA 6.

2) It has many interesting secrets

Many secrets in GTA Vice City make its gameplay and the open world interesting. It is a signature style of Rockstar Games to put various intriguing details in its projects, and Vice City has a fair share of them. The moon landing film studio, a parody of Steven Spielberg, images of Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev are to name a few.

While some of these secrets are easy to find, many others need precise knowledge to be discovered. These things retain the old game's populararity.

3) One of the best compact games

As of 2025’s gaming standards, GTA Vice City can be deemed a compact game with a decently long storyline and plenty of side activities. You can complete the entire campaign within five hours, which includes 59 missions.

You can also play various sub-missions, off-road challenges, rampage missions, store robberies, payphone missions, and other activities. The storyline is intriguing, and various popular artists (such as Ray Liotta, Tom Sizemore, and Danny Trejo) lend their voices for various in-game characters, making Vice City an ideal, compact game to enjoy.

4) Rockstar released a new version

Rockstar released GTA Vice City Definitive Edition in November 2021, which made the game popular among new-age players. The new version has the same storyline and missions with new graphics and a few QoL improvements.

Vice City Definitive Edition is also available on modern gaming platforms such as PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC. Additionally, GTA Online players who have the GTA Plus membership can play the Definitive Edition for free, making the 2002 game even more popular.

5) Also available on handheld devices

Vice City can be played on various devices (Image via Rockstar Games)

Along with consoles and PC, GTA Vice City can be played on various Android and iOS devices. However, if you consider the game's Definitive Edition, the options are even more.

You can play the Definitive Edition on Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, and Steam Deck. Since handheld gaming is gradually getting more popular, Vice City is also becoming widely known among this demographic.

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About the author

Mridul completed his post-graduation in Mass Communication, Journalism, and Media Studies. His career as a journalist began at Sportskeeda, and he has been associated with the Esports & Gaming division for over 1.5 years. He has produced 1600+ articles on Grand Theft Auto, his favorite gaming franchise of all time.

Mridul writes detailed and well-researched articles, relying solely on official sources and reputable insiders for credible information. His immense love for the GTA series shines through in his work, which resonates with readers, with five of his articles having crossed the 100,000 reads mark each. Overall, his reads count stands at close to 8 million.

GTA: Vice City served as Mridul's introduction to Rockstar Games, and he has dedicatedly made his way through the publisher's catalog since then. If given a chance, he would love to drop into the world of Bully and relive his school days. However, he would like to recommend Grand Theft Auto 4 to beginners due to the depth of its narrative and in-game mechanics.

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Edited by Angad Sharma