GTA 6 fans are comparing the streets of Vice City with their older appearance in GTA 5-era footage, highlighting how much Rockstar Games has improved its world design over the past 13 years.
]A Reddit post titled “Same place, 13 years apart” has drawn attention to the visual differences between the two generations of Grand Theft Auto games.
The Reddit post puts the focus on the same location at two different points in time. The comparison gives fans a chance to see how Rockstar has changed its approach to city design, environmental details, lighting, and overall realism.
Since GTA 5 launched in 2013, Rockstar has continued to improve its technology and the way it builds open worlds.
Los Santos was already packed with details, from busy roads to shops and residential areas.
However, GTA 6 appears ready to take that level of detail further with its modern take on Vice City and the wider state of Leonida.
One of the biggest differences fans have noticed in GTA 6 footage is how much life Rockstar has added to its environments.
Buildings feature more visible details, roads look more realistic, and lighting changes the appearance of locations throughout the day.
The game also shows a wide range of pedestrians, vehicles, signs, and activities that help make the world feel active.
GTA 6’s Vice City is also designed around modern-day Florida, giving Rockstar a chance to explore a setting that looks very different from the version seen in GTA: Vice City.
The city mixes beaches, busy shopping areas, nightlife, and residential streets, while the wider map includes rural areas and other parts of Leonida.
These changes go beyond graphics alone. A convincing open world depends on how its different elements work together, including traffic, pedestrians, weather, and the way characters interact with their surroundings.
Rockstar has shown several examples of these details in its official GTA 6 trailers and screenshots, although the full range of gameplay systems has yet to be revealed.
The 13-year comparison is also a reminder of how much time has passed since GTA 5 first arrived.
The game has remained popular across multiple console generations, but GTA 6 is being built for newer hardware, allowing Rockstar to create a more detailed world.
That said, a screenshot comparison cannot show every difference between the games. Camera angles, lighting, and the specific versions of the footage can all affect how a location looks.
Players will need to explore Vice City themselves to judge how much the world has changed in practice.
With GTA 6 scheduled to launch on November 19, 2026, fans are getting closer to seeing Rockstar’s new open world in full.
Until then, comparisons like this continue to give the community plenty to discuss as players look for familiar locations, visual upgrades, and possible connections to older games.
Fans can find official trailers and updates on the Rockstar Games GTA 6 website.
