GTA 6 vs GTA 4: Liberty City in 2008, Vice City in 2026
Grand Theft Auto IV launched on April 29, 2008, and GTA 6 arrives on November 19, 2026, 6,778 days later. Here is the side-by-side table, then the thread Rockstar has run between them: Lucia grew up in Liberty City.
GTA 6 launches November 19, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, 6,778 days after GTA 4 hit PS3 and Xbox 360 on April 29, 2008. GTA 4 slipped 196 days; GTA 6's latest delay added 177. GTA 4 sold 3.6 million copies in its first 24 hours and holds a 98 on Metacritic. The one official link: Lucia and her mom lived in Liberty City, GTA 4's setting.
GTA 6 launches November 19, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, 6,778 days after Grand Theft Auto IV reached PS3 and Xbox 360 on April 29, 2008. Two cities, two real-world models: Liberty City for New York, Vice City for Miami. One character links them, Lucia Caminos.
| GTA 4 | GTA 6 | |
|---|---|---|
| Release | April 29, 2008 | November 19, 2026 |
| Original target | October 16, 2007 | 2025, then May 26, 2026 |
| Launch platforms | PS3, Xbox 360 | PS5, Xbox Series X|S |
| PC version | December 2, 2008, 7 months and 3 days later | none announced as of October 8, 2026 |
| Setting | Liberty City, modeled on New York | the state of Leonida, Vice City included |
| Playable characters | 1: Niko Bellic | 2: Jason Duval, Lucia Caminos |
| Endings | 2: Deal and Revenge | not published |
| Main story | 27 hours (HowLongToBeat) | about 80 hours for Rob Nelson’s playthrough |
| First 24 hours | 3.6 million copies, about $310 million | pending |
| Lifetime sales | over 25 million by July 2013 | pending |
| Metascore | 98, the series high | pending |
GTA 4 figures come from Wikipedia, checked on August 28, 2026, Metacritic as of September 18, 2026, and TheGamer for endings and length. GTA 6 figures come from Rockstar Games, Take-Two and GamesRadar+. The same grid exists for GTA 5 and Vice City, and the whole series is in our GTA series history.
Lucia is the official bridge
Rockstar’s profile of Lucia puts it in one line: “More than anything, Lucia wants the good life her mom has dreamed of since their days in Liberty City.” It is the only place a GTA 6 character page points back to the setting of an earlier game. The same page then sends her to the Leonida Penitentiary for fighting for her family.
That is all it says about those years. Which neighborhood, how long, whether she crossed paths with anyone from GTA 4: the page stays quiet, and the rest plays out on November 19, 2026. Her full profile is in our Lucia Caminos entry.
Two delays, eighteen years apart
GTA 4 was due on October 16, 2007. In August 2007, Take-Two pushed it into its fiscal second quarter of 2008, citing technical difficulties with the PlayStation 3 version, and Rockstar set April 29, 2008 on January 24, 2008. The slip came to 196 days.
GTA 6 moved twice. Announced on December 4, 2023 for 2025, it shifted to May 26, 2026 on May 2, 2025, then to November 19, 2026 on November 6, 2025. That second delay added 177 days, close to the 2007 one. Every date is in our release date guide.
The same names in the credits
GTA 4’s script ran to about 1,000 pages, per Wikipedia, and was written by Dan Houser and Rupert Humphries. Houser left Rockstar on March 11, 2020. Humphries is now the studio’s senior vice president of narrative, Dazed reported on August 26, 2026.
Edinburgh shows the same continuity. Aaron Garbut, GTA 4’s art director, who picked New York as “an amazing, diverse, vibrant, cinematic city,” now runs Rockstar North alongside Rob Nelson, according to GamesIndustry.biz on August 28, 2026.
The PC precedent
GTA 4 reached Windows in North America on December 2, 2008, 7 months and 3 days after consoles. As of October 8, 2026, Rockstar has announced no PC version of GTA 6. Every past gap is compared in our PC version guide.
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