The real-world inspiration for Grand Theft Auto’s Vice City is Miami.
Rockstar North modelled Vice City heavily on Miami, Florida, especially its beaches, palm-lined streets, nightlife, and reputation for organised crime. The best-known version appears in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which is set in a stylised 1986 and follows gangster Tommy Vercetti as he builds a criminal empire.
The developers conducted field research in Miami while creating the game world. The setting also reflects the era’s popular culture: films such as Scarface and television series such as Miami Vice influenced the game’s neon visual style, fashion, music, criminal factions, and atmosphere.
Vice City is not a literal recreation of Miami. It is a fictional city that compresses and exaggerates real locations and cultural references for satire and gameplay. The name can also cause confusion because Vice City has appeared in several different GTA universes, with later versions reinterpreting the setting rather than sharing one continuous map.