• Guide

What year does GTA 6 take place?

Don't let those trailer soundtracks confuse you.

Aidan O'Brien

May 9, 2025 4:25 AM

Rockstar Games

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GTA 6 arrives next May, and the hype for the game is already building. It looks as though Rockstar Games is getting ready to give us the very best entry in the series to date, and we'll be going back to Vice City for our adventure, which is in my opinion, the best setting the series has ever produced.

When is GTA 6 set?

GTA 6 has been using 80s songs in both trailers, which is leading people to ask when the game is set. The game is actually set in, or near, the current year, much the same as the previous entry. While the marketing campaign is certainly playing up to the 80s vibe due to the original GTA Vice City being set in that time period, the game is not set in that era.

You can tell by a lot of elements of the trailers, such as cars and phones, and even mentions of things like social media, that the game is going to be very much a modern-era setting. It will be interesting to see if Grand Theft Auto's trademark parody and satire can survive in a world that seems to be trying to become more like the art that was previously making fun of it.

Stick with Shacknews for more GTA 6 news, features, and, of course, all manner of guides when the game launches on May 26, 2026.

Aidan O'Brien

Contributing Guides Editor

Hailing from Ireland, Aidan has been conditioned by local weather conditions to survive hours at his PC grinding through whatever game is offering the lowest possible drop rates for loot. He thinks the easiest way to figure out what fans of games want to read is to just be a fan of games. You can normally find him logged into Warframe, Destiny, or a gacha game. You can reach out to him on X @scannerbarkly.