Does GTA 6 Take Place After GTA 5? Story and Universe

The short answer

Rockstar has not said GTA 6 is a sequel to GTA 5, and it has not said the two stories connect. GTA 6 has a new setting and new leads, and none of the eight characters Rockstar has profiled come from earlier games. Rockstar has also not said which of the series’ worlds GTA 6 belongs to.

Its official material contains two small nods to earlier games:

• Lucia’s bio says she wants “the good life her mom has dreamed of since their days in Liberty City.”
• The Ultimate Edition revolvers have “classic Vice City stylings sourced from the Vercetti Estate.” Vercetti is the surname of Tommy Vercetti, the lead of 2002’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

What Rockstar has said

Question	Official position
Is GTA 6 a sequel to GTA 5?	Not stated
Are the stories connected?	Not stated
Which world of the series is GTA 6 in?	Not stated
Will GTA 5 characters appear?	Not stated; all eight profiled characters are new
Do you need to play earlier games?	Not stated
Which engine does it use?	Not stated
Is there an online mode?	The pre-order announcement says “Grand Theft Auto VI is a single player experience”; nothing about online has been announced

How Rockstar splits the series

Rockstar has said for years that not every GTA shares one world. Answering fan questions in 2011, it said “the ‘universes’ are the worlds interpreted at different definitions, 2d, 3d and high definition,” and “we don’t believe any GTA3 characters could exist in the GTA4 universe.” In 2009 it described the GTA III timeline as “a different world to Grand Theft Auto IV - only the branding and certain radio personalities exist across both worlds.”

Dan Houser was blunter in 2012, talking about GTA 5: “The five PS2 games are one universe, and this is the high definition universe, so they don’t co-exist. You would never see CJ or Tommy Vercetti.”

By that account, GTA IV and GTA 5 belong to the HD world, and PS2-era games such as GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas to another. Rockstar has not said where GTA 6 fits. For dates and settings of every game, see all GTA games in order.

Nods to earlier games in official material

Vice City is back, in the present day. Rockstar’s regional introduction says: “We’re a long way from the ’80s, but Vice City is still the sun and fun capital of America.” Vice City appeared in the original 1997 game, in 2002’s Vice City and in 2006’s Vice City Stories; GTA 6 is its latest appearance. See Vice City.

Liberty City gets a mention. Lucia’s mother dreamed of a better life back in Liberty City. Liberty City exists in both the PS2-era games and the HD games, so the line only tells us Liberty City exists in GTA 6’s world, not which earlier games it connects to.

The Vercetti Estate. The revolver description mentions the “Vercetti Estate”, a clear nod to 2002’s Vice City. It is still only an item description; it does not say Tommy Vercetti exists in GTA 6’s world.

Will old characters return?

• Tommy Vercetti, CJ and other PS2-era characters: Rockstar has not said they will appear. Houser’s 2012 comment says they would not show up in the HD games, but he was talking about GTA 5.
• Other people in the trailers: Rockstar does not name people in its footage, so cameo theories have no official basis.

Will Michael, Franklin or Trevor be in GTA 6?

There is no official word that any of GTA 5’s three leads appear in GTA 6. The eight characters Rockstar has profiled are Jason, Lucia, Cal Hampton, Boobie Ike, Dre’Quan Priest, Real Dimez, Raul Bautista and Brian Heder, all new.

Where the three ended up depends on which GTA 5 ending you count. Our GTA 5 story recap covers the three endings and why later GTA Online updates point to the one where all of them survive. Surviving GTA 5 is not the same as appearing in GTA 6, and Rockstar has not connected the two.

Our reading

What follows is our analysis, not a statement from Rockstar.

If you apply Rockstar’s old definition-based split, GTA 6 is a present-day story from the HD generation, and the most natural fit is alongside GTA IV and GTA 5. A present-day Vice City and a family history in Liberty City both sit comfortably in that world.

The evidence is thin, though. Rockstar has not confirmed it, and a name like the Vercetti Estate shows it is happy to nod to the PS2 era. The safer reading is that GTA 6 is a new standalone story, and understanding it should not depend on any earlier game’s plot.

Can you start with GTA 6?

Rockstar has not said you need to play earlier games. Every numbered GTA starts over with new leads and a new story, and all of GTA 6’s announced characters are new, so starting with GTA 6 puts you at no real disadvantage.

If you want a feel for the series first, both of these are available on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S (our suggestion, not Rockstar’s):

• GTA 5: also set in the present day, and the most recent numbered game before GTA 6.
• Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition: its Vice City is the 2002 story set in the city.

Related pages

• GTA 6 vs GTA 5: setting, protagonists, platforms and other confirmed differences
• All GTA games in order: year, setting and lead character of every game
• Vice City: what Rockstar has shown of the city in GTA 6
• Lucia Caminos: the lead whose bio mentions Liberty City
• Does GTA 6 have online multiplayer?: what “single player experience” does and doesn’t mean

Sources

• Rockstar: GTA VI website
• Rockstar: Only in Leonida (character bios and regions)
• Rockstar: GTA VI editions (Ultimate Edition item descriptions)
• Take-Two: Rockstar pre-order announcement
• Rockstar Newswire: Grand Theft Auto VI pre-order announcement
• Rockstar Newswire: GTA III questions answered (December 15, 2011)
• Rockstar Newswire: Asked & Answered (September 18, 2009)
• Official PlayStation Magazine UK: Dan Houser interview (November 8, 2012, archived)