Grand Theft Auto games aren't likely to take place anywhere outside the United States anytime soon, as a former high-ranking developer at Rockstar Games has pointed out a perpetual "loop" of five recurring cities that serve as the franchise's setting. There have been requests from the fan community for a Grand Theft Auto game set in a new locale, but Obbe Vermeij doesn't seem hopeful that it will happen.
The Grand Theft Auto series got its start in 1997 with the launch of its first game, a top-down crime-based action-adventure title that had fans hopping between locales that should sound familiar to modern-day players, like Liberty City, Vice City, and San Andreas. The second game followed a similar formula, but the series really set up for success with Grand Theft Auto 3 and its open-world, 3D presentation. Vermeij served as technical director at Rockstar North and played a big role in the development, along with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Grand Theft Auto 4 before leaving his role in 2009.
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The 'Five American Cities' of Grand Theft Auto
- Liberty City (New York City)
- Vice City (Miami)
- San Andreas (San Francisco)
- Los Santos (Los Angeles)
- Las Venturas (Las Vegas)
Aside from a few extra locales that have been tacked on over the years, Vermeij has recently pointed out that Grand Theft Auto seems to be stuck with a pool of just a few different cities based on real locations in the United States, and that's a trend he expects to see continue. In a recent interview with GamesHub, Vermeij was asked about the possibility of a future Grand Theft Auto game set in London or somewhere else in Europe. While he didn't knock the idea for its potential creativity, he seems solid in his belief that Rockstar will not be taking that approach with any future games in the Grand Theft Auto line. "They’ll revisit New York again. They’ll go back to LA or maybe Las Vegas. I’m afraid we’re stuck in this loop of about five American cities," he explained. "Let’s just get used to it."
While he didn't mention all five in that interview, the other two can be inferred, and they're all from games that Vermeij heavily influenced during his time at Rockstar North. Based on New York City, Grand Theft Auto 3's Liberty City was one of the most alive worlds in gaming when it was first released for PlayStation 2 in October 2001, and the immediate follow-up the next year, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, took players to a bright and colorful fictional version of Miami. Then in 2004, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas bucked the trend a bit by including its titular city in addition to Los Santos and Las Venturas, throwing urban areas based on San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas into the mix.
However, since the franchise has returned to its numbered mainline games, the series has stuck to those previously established cities, and Vermeij has a good idea of why. With Grand Theft Auto 4 revisiting Liberty City and Grand Theft Auto 5 set again around San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto 6's Vice City setting will complete the trifecta established in the PS2 era, but he doesn't seem to think that's fundamentally problematic. "Nobody is going to say that they’re not going to play GTA 6 because they’ve already played Vice City," he noted. "That doesn’t make sense. It’s completely different."
Although Vermeij said he would "love it" if a future game in the series took place somewhere overseas, he doesn't expect the loop to break. With the second 2025 delay of Grand Theft Auto 6 announced in November, there is expected to be more than a 13-year gap between mainline games. That's plenty of time for technological advancements to make the old cities feel new again, and the nostalgia of revisiting them after such a long time away could actually work out in Rockstar's favor, even if it means players won't get the joy of starting their own crime ring in a new place.
OpenCritic Reviews
- Released
- November 19, 2026
- ESRB
- Rating Pending - Likely Mature 17+
- Developer(s)
- Rockstar Games
- Publisher(s)
- Rockstar Games
WHERE TO PLAY
Source: GamesHub