GAME · 2026 · USA
Grand Theft Auto VI
40 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
13 Easter Eggs and References in Grand Theft Auto VI
- #007
Unlike the 3D universe of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006), this game, set in the HD era and returning to Vice City, takes place in the fictional state of Leonida, named after Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. León led the first European expedition to the Florida peninsula, on which the game's main setting is based.
- #010
There are various forward- and backward-looking associations regarding how the developers assess what GTA Vice City was influenced by and what it looked like, and what ideas a future Vice City would bring along with its development process: In 2012, then-former Rockstar producer Leslie Benzies stated that the reason the Miami idea was chosen as a setting in the 2002 game was Sam Houser's fondness for the Miami Vice TV series; Benzies also stated that he wanted it to be an ambitious new game and to revisit the Vice City setting. In 2012, current art designer and producer Aaron Garbut repeated Benzies' story about Sam Houser's Miami Vice idea, confirming that Miami would be the next GTA city setting and adding that the film inspirations were Carlito's Way (1993) and Scarface (1983). Garbut went on to share that at the time their only changes to the game would be expanding what was shown in the Florida Everglades as well as expanding beyond the mapped city surroundings. In a previous GTA V segment, Garbut also noted how he detailed the close use of lightning in the game's production to match the daily sunlight beam around Los Angeles and to get the best the hardware could handle. All three would come true, as the later GTA VI trailer showed across every area of the game's geography. In the same year, 2012, Sam Houser said that Scarface, set in Miami Beach, was his favorite film from childhood and that the original GTA Vice City was influenced by Miami Vice overall, but that the story was influenced by Scarface. He also commented on how Michael Mann was not only his favorite industry producer but also how Miami Vice's contributions would work, such as consistent episode length, an adult-oriented risqué approach, montages composed with music (something he would later comment about wanting to copy in a future game) and its selected soundtrack list. He further noted his admiration for the variety of the series' components, from color and lighting, including at night, to TV episodes structured as missions and weapons, to consulting with weapons experts in advance for the GTA Vice City setup production, and to the array of boat, car and helicopter vehicles. Houser, who included "Miami" and Scarface references in the first GTA III game, also stated that even after finishing the game he would watch Miami Vice the following year, which coincided with the next year of GTA Vice City. During the 2002 setup, Garbut also visited Miami and watched the series to model similar lighting for the series. Since all of this is historical context that Houser hoped would meet high expectations in 2002, as well as the modern context Sam Houser explained in 2023, the GTA VI game will once again push the boundaries of possibility, being "deeply immersive, story-driven open-world experiences" and "a new vision." This also parallels GTA VI's development and production costs being tracked at $2 billion, a figure that surpasses the previous GTA V's 3-day sales figure. With Houser and Garbut's comments taken into account and considered, the newly designed game also appears to reference a larger presence of Florida cities this time; Vice City's outlying community is framed after Port Gellhorn (identified in the trailer as a city and police department), Panama City and also Port Charlotte, with the whole South Florida image kept in mind for the game itself. At the same time, this is the first time a Vice City-based game will include a real-life community named after a specific person, such as journalist Martha Gellhorn, who reported on World War II conflicts and the invasion of Panama while in Panama City, Panama. The rediscovered Vice City also features new architecture, infrastructure and landmarks modeled on the culturally dense Miami and its neighborhoods.
- #016
The September 2022 network intrusion leaks revealed a waffle restaurant robbery with a notable hidden reference: an animated lighthouse framed photo on the wall, compared to the Gordo Mountain lighthouse on the coast, and a view suggesting an ocean perspective from a cliff stairwell.
- #021
Given that the game's Miami influences also include Panama City Beach, Florida, Grand Theft Auto IV had mentioned Panama and Panama City twice in separate media events: first, Science of Crime TV having several spin-off series, among them Panama City (also a reference to a Vice City spin-off), and second, the IV TLAD mission "Off Route," in which Thomas Stubbs says the released prisoners will travel to Panama and the US city takes its name from the country.
- #022
As with the above, there would also be continuing Florida history references sharing the same 20th-century Florida state government observations: in IV, Bohan's Valdez street refers to Pedro de Valdéz, a 16th-century Spanish-commissioned explorer and later Governor of Cuba from 1600 to 1607, who was meanwhile directed on a new commission to explore the future territory of the US state of Florida along with other participants, including his son. Before his governorship, he had led the Spanish Armada in 1588 as a Spanish Navy admiral and was captured by Francis Drake when two Spanish ships collided with Drake and he was taken prisoner to Queen Elizabeth I. In the Algonquin neighborhood of East Holland, and realistically among numerous Dutch historical references and Dutch cities, there would also be a Florida reference to the 1941-1945 Governor and 1946-1971 US Senator. A lifelong Florida native later known for the Melbourne Beach golf course and schools named after him, Spessard Holland introduced the 24th Amendment, which eliminated poll taxes for voting in federal elections.
- #024
The upcoming game's 2023 trailer nods to the return of a vehicle resembling the Bravado Gauntlet Hellfire from Grand Theft Auto Online (2013), which is based on the Dodge Challenger. A law enforcement variant influenced by the Dodge Charger Hellfire also appears. Interestingly, this return coincides with the real-world retirement of both the Challenger and Charger models in 2023. The trailer also showcases a Granger 3600 modeled after the 2015-generation Chevrolet Tahoe. However, a newer 2021 generation of the Tahoe exists, making the in-game version a nod to the previous design seen in Grand Theft Auto V (2013).
- #028
The May 6, 2025 trailer also draws attention to a character wearing a New Era parody sports cap bearing a visible team logo, a further nod to the New Era cap company — specifically to its German immigrant founder, Erhardt Koch, whose company adopted its new name in 1922 from the previously self-named E. Koch Company, and which itself would become MLB's on-field exclusive cap supplier in 1993. This came years after starting with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians (the latter two referenced as recurring geography in IV) and Detroit Tigers. The company would also continue expanding its New York presence with its Derby, Erie County manufacturing facility, and founder Koch, who after his death in 1953 would be buried in Buffalo. Simply put, in this May 6, 2025 trailer, appropriately placed Bravado Buffalo police vehicles would reappear, as they have since 2008's Liberty City.
- #029
Brown Place street, bounded by Emerald and Feldspar streets, never had a distinctly specific naming origin, including 1917-1920 Albany, New York State Senator Adon P. Brown (who would die in Tampa, Florida) — a city consistently associated with this later name as part of the whole South Florida region. By another strange coincidence, IV-era Emerald and Feldspar streets would not only accompany the other parallel streets Barium, Calcium and Pyrite, but the minerals barite, calcite and pyrite (the last composed of iron, another parallel street) are among the rocks mined in Florida, a state where the quarry Bone Valley is in Central Florida. The state also includes zircon among the mineral varieties sought by the mining industry, and this shares both 2008 and 2013 with the neighboring IV-era Zirconium Building skyscraper, which features the car manufacturer of the same name and the Honda Accord Wagon-modeled Stratum.
- #031
The trailer features Phil's Ammu-Nation, referencing both the character Phil Cassidy (Grand Theft Auto III (2001), Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006)) and the Ammu-Nation chain seen throughout the series. Its design also recalls The Serrated Edge, the parody shopping channel of Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) hosted by Luther Austin and Estell Graham. Despite being set in Liberty City, both hosts spoke with Southern accents. Austin was later given an LCPD profile and even a Vinewood Walk of Fame star in Grand Theft Auto V (2013).
- #034
Budweiser, owned by Anheuser-Busch, is parodied in the game as "Büdwieser." In the first trailer, beer scenes appear following Wang Chung's "Everybody Have Fun Tonight," a nod to the brand's 1980s sponsorship of the group. The song first appeared on the 1986 album Mosaic; that name also appeared on several buildings on Miami Beach and echoed in local mosaic murals created between 2020 and 2021.
- #035
As seen in the release, screenshots and trailers, the game features license plates referencing Georgia's parody state "Gloriana" and realistic details resembling both Florida and Georgia.
- #037
Algonquin's East Holland neighborhood in Grand Theft Auto IV (2008), named after the real Dutch city and reflecting numerous Dutch historical influences, may also subtly reference Florida's political history. In particular, it parallels former Florida Governor (1941–1945) and lifelong Florida native U.S. Senator (1946–1971) Spessard Holland. Holland, who governed during the era of segregation, is remembered for introducing the 24th Amendment, which abolished poll taxes in federal elections. In related historical context, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was founded in 1909; the Brevard County chapter was founded in 1934 and the Miami-Dade chapter in 1988, a period also reflected in the 1980s influences seen in the 2023 and 2025 Grand Theft Auto VI trailers. Florida's first NAACP State Conference took place in 1941, while Spessard Holland was serving as governor.
- #038
Given that the 2023 trailer (trailer 1) revealed the return of Dodge-inspired vehicles as seen in earlier HD Universe games, it also contained a subtle nod to previous games. Both Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) and Grand Theft Auto V (2013) included items and locations tied to the name "Elgin," from weapons such as the .357 Remington and suppressed pistols to Grand Theft Auto V's Downtown Los Santos street "Elgin Avenue," and to Horace Elgin Dodge, co-founder of the Dodge Brothers Company, who died in 1920 in Palm Beach, South Florida (part of Miami, the city that inspired Grand Theft Auto VI). These vehicles also reflect the influence of Detroit-based DaimlerChrysler, which appeared in GTA IV with Chrysler and Dodge models and later in Grand Theft Auto V with Jeep-inspired Canis vehicles. Many of these in-game brands, including the Florida Indian tribe the Seminole, share their name origins with real-life vehicles. In gameplay terms, drive-by shooting and vehicle handling mechanics improved with each installment, from the spinning-car AI of the 2008 title to the advanced animations and graphics of 2013, culminating in Grand Theft Auto VI's new 360-degree body movement system.
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