# Over 20 years later, GTA Vice City is still a role model for the open-world genre

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/over-20-years-later-gta-vice-city-is-still-a-role-model-for-the-open-world-genre/
- Published: 2026-10-29T14:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-07T02:40:12+00:00
- Original publisher: GamesRadar+
- Original article: https://www.gamesradar.com/games/grand-theft-auto/over-20-years-later-gta-vice-city-is-still-a-role-model-for-the-open-world-genre/
- Topics: Entertainment, Gaming

## Key points

- Vice City made exploration a major part of the experience.
- It added properties, vehicles and optional activities.
- Its worldbuilding helped set open-world conventions.

## Summary

GTA: Vice City expanded on the foundations of Grand Theft Auto 3, creating a more open and detailed city that helped shape expectations for the open-world genre. The article argues that its lasting influence came from making exploration and immersion rewarding in themselves, not just serving the main story.

Released in 2002, Vice City added aircraft, motorbikes, purchasable properties, clothing changes and optional activities. Its Miami-inspired setting included enterable venues and businesses, while celebrity voice acting, licensed music and references to Scarface gave it a distinctive atmosphere. The game still lacked features such as swimming and climbing, but its worldbuilding felt unusually ambitious for the time.

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