Is Vice City the least explored location in the GTA series?

The location of a GTA game is as integral as the controls, the graphics, and the story. Players probably have lots of nostalgia attached to virtual cities like Los Santos, Liberty City, and the 80s playland called Vice City.

GTA Vice City is easily one of the most beloved games in the franchise, and its location itself was a massive part of why that is the case. Rockstar Game's decision to double down on San Andreas' time leap back to the 90s, with Vice City set in the 80s, paid off massively.

Fans immediately fell in love with the game's retrowave aesthetic and still enjoy the game to this day. However, Rockstar is yet to visit Vice City in a GTA game since the console-exclusive GTA Vice City Stories.

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Is Vice City the least explored location in the GTA series?

Vice City has been the primary location for a total of two GTA games, which is decent. However, given that Stories didn't add much to the place, it hasn't been explored all that much.

In contrast, San Andreas has been visited twice too, but both GTA 5 and San Andreas explored different parts of the state, expanding upon it with vast sections of the map. With Blaine County's addition to Grand Theft Auto 5, Rockstar developed the San Andreas location further.

The same goes for Liberty City, which technically has been the city Rockstar has gone back to the most, as it's present in the following games:

1. Grand Theft Auto 3
2. Grand Theft Auto 4
3. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
4. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
5. Grand Theft Auto IV: Episodes from Liberty City

Thus, even on a technicality basis, Vice City remains the least explored GTA franchise location.

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Will Vice City be an ideal location for GTA 6?

All signs point to a return to the Miami-inspired drug hotspot in GTA 6, but there needs to be a solid reason for Rockstar to go back to it. Perhaps there are simply no more interesting avenues left to explore in Vice City for Rockstar, both creatively and technically.

When it comes to semi-tropical cities, the studio has explored that type of location with both Los Santos and Vice City to a smaller extent before. Perhaps Rockstar doesn't feel like there is anything left in Vice City that challenges them from a creative standpoint, as simply nostalgia cannot be the sole reason for the choice of city.

But at the same time, there are a lot of creative challenges in Vice City. Players have only known the version of the city from the 80s, and no one has known the fate of the town since.

Perhaps post-1980 Vice City is but a modern-day wasteland, having fallen prey to corruption, crime, and the rampant narcotics trade. Visiting the fate of the city in modern times could be a challenge that excites Rockstar.

Note: This article reflects the author's views.