As anticipation for Grand Theft Auto 6 continues to build, one recurring question refuses to fade. Why does Rockstar keep revisiting the same cities. Vice City. Liberty City. Los Santos. For a franchise known for ambition, repetition seems counterintuitive.

A former developer from  believes the answer is less about creative comfort and more about realism. In his view, the studio is not recycling locations because it lacks ideas. It is doing so because alternative approaches simply do not scale.

That explanation challenges a popular assumption. And it deserves a closer look.

The Myth of Infinite New Cities

From the outside, creating a new city sounds straightforward. Pick a location. Build landmarks. Populate the streets. However, modern GTA worlds demand more than surface detail.

Each city must support hundreds of systems. Traffic behavior. Pedestrian routines. Law enforcement logic. Environmental storytelling. All of it must function seamlessly at scale.

Fans may be surprised that inventing an entirely new city is often riskier than refining a known one. Familiar settings provide a tested framework. They allow developers to deepen realism rather than reinvent fundamentals.

Why Realism Narrows Creative Freedom

Rockstar’s approach to realism is selective but demanding. Cities are not direct replicas, yet they are close enough to invite comparison. Players recognize the inspiration immediately.

That recognition comes with expectations. Street layouts must make sense. Neighborhoods need social identity. Geography has to feel plausible. Fictional cities without real world grounding often fail these tests.

According to the former developer, many locations fans request simply do not translate well into a GTA scale sandbox. Some cities are too uniform. Others lack visual contrast. Some are geographically awkward.

This changes everything.

The Technical Cost of Reinvention

Every new city requires years of research and iteration. Architecture studies. Cultural references. Traffic patterns. Even regional humor.

Returning to a known city does not mean copying and pasting. Vice City in GTA 6 will not resemble its earlier version beyond basic identity. Density increases. Systems expand. Entire districts evolve.

However, the underlying logic remains familiar. That continuity saves time without sacrificing depth.

Player Expectations Play a Quiet Role

Revisiting locations also benefits players. Familiar cities invite comparison. Fans notice what changed. What expanded. What disappeared.

In contrast, a completely new city offers no baseline. Everything must be learned from scratch. That can dilute early engagement.

Rockstar understands nostalgia as a design tool. It anchors players emotionally while allowing innovation around the edges.

Why Other Studios Cannot Easily Copy This Approach

Some critics argue Rockstar relies too heavily on past settings. Yet few studios attempt similar realism at comparable scale.

Open world games often opt for stylized environments or fictional regions to reduce complexity. That choice offers freedom but limits immersion.

Rockstar chose the opposite path. High fidelity realism constrains options. Once committed, there is no easy escape.

The Ex Developer’s Core Argument

The former Rockstar developer frames the issue bluntly. There are only a handful of cities in the world that can support GTA’s design philosophy.

They need visual diversity. Cultural contrast. Logical sprawl. Clear socioeconomic divisions. Not many places check every box.

When a city does, it becomes valuable. Revisiting it is not creative stagnation. It is efficient evolution.

How GTA 6 Fits This Pattern

GTA 6 is widely expected to revisit Vice City. On paper, that sounds predictable. In practice, it allows Rockstar to focus elsewhere.

More complex NPC behavior. Expanded interiors. Dynamic world events. Longer systemic chains.

The city becomes a foundation rather than the headline feature.

The Risk of Staying Familiar

There is, of course, risk. Familiarity can feel safe. Some players crave novelty above all else.

If changes are too subtle, criticism follows. If differences are too extreme, identity suffers. Rockstar must balance recognition with reinvention.

That balance has defined the series for decades.

Why Reinvention May Come Later

The former developer does not rule out new cities forever. He suggests that technological shifts could reopen possibilities.

Procedural systems. Advanced AI simulation. More modular world building.

Until then, realism keeps the map small. Not in size, but in options.

A Design Constraint, Not a Creative Failure

The debate around reused cities often assumes a lack of imagination. The reality appears more practical.

Rockstar builds worlds meant to last years. That requires stability, credibility, and scale few locations can provide.

In that context, revisiting cities is not a shortcut. It is a necessity.

For GTA 6, that choice reflects confidence rather than limitation.