Grand Theft Auto has always used its made-up cities as a mirror held up to American culture, and GTA 6 lands at a moment when social media and everyday life are basically inseparable. That is exactly the angle Rockstar is leaning into with Vice City: a place packed with influencers, celebrities, tourists, musicians and people who never stop thinking about how they come across. And it is not just flavor text – it shaped how the open world was built.
“Vice City is built around vanity”
Rockstar Games stylist Jillian Carr summed up the idea in an exclusive interview: “Vice City is built around vanity. Between social media, celebrity culture and a constant flow of tourists, appearances carry significant weight, and trend cycles turn over quickly.”
That single sentence explains why the social side of GTA 6 goes further than the Facebook and Twitter parodies of GTA 5, Lifeinvader and Bleeter. Back then they were mostly jokes on a laptop screen. This time social media is treated as part of the culture Rockstar is recreating in Leonida.
Feeds you can actually follow into the world
The big detail: GTA 6 has working social media feeds. If you scroll a feed and see a character posting from a specific part of Vice City – or somewhere else in the greater Leonida area – you can go there and find that NPC. The feed is not a static gag, it is a pointer into the map.
The phone is also a physical object that Jason and Lucia handle while moving through the world, including situations where one of them drives and the other one browses. Confirmed phone and social media apps so far:
- BuckMe
- RydeMe
- Scooter Bros
- WhatUp
- Waink (used for stealing cars)
- Snapmatic
- a fitness app
More will almost certainly show up, since this list only covers what has been confirmed so far.
Why it matters for how you play
Feeds give Rockstar a way to show you what is happening across Leonida without pushing everything into a mission, which blends the story and the open world instead of keeping them in separate boxes. Official material has already shown how the duo Real Dimez use social media to build their fame – Bae-Luxe and Roxy have a “relentless social media presence” and their careers grow through viral videos and music. You can follow that rise through in-game viral posts, watching a story develop without being dragged into it directly. And if you want in on that world, you can get involved yourself.
It also fits the wider picture Rockstar has been painting about scale and detail – we covered the studio’s claim about the densest world it has ever built.
The crowd itself looks different now
The obsession with appearances is not limited to named characters. GTA 6 has a far more detailed population than previous games, with Rockstar building out clothing, hairstyles, body types, tattoos, piercings and other visual details for people all over Leonida. The point is that a crowd should look like it belongs where it stands – the wealthier parts of Vice City should not be populated by the same faces and outfits as the rest of the state.
Put together, it adds up to a world where vanity shows up in the characters, the brands, the clothes, the music and the feeds, which makes Carr’s description of the city feel earned rather than like marketing.
Where to go next
If you are catching up on everything around the launch, we have written about the decision that GTA 6 arrives as a single-player title, about the slow-motion ability spotted in official footage, and you can browse everything else in our GTA news hub.
FAQ
Yes. The feeds are functional, and spotting a character posting from a certain place in Vice City or the wider Leonida area means you can travel there and find that NPC.
BuckMe, RydeMe, Scooter Bros, WhatUp, Waink, Snapmatic and a fitness app. Waink is used for stealing cars. More apps are likely, since this is only what has been confirmed.
The phone is treated as a physical object Jason and Lucia handle in the world, including moments where one character drives while the other browses the phone.
A duo made up of Bae-Luxe and Roxy, described as having a “relentless social media presence”, with careers built on viral videos and music. You can follow their rise through in-game viral posts.
Rockstar says the population is much more detailed, with different clothing, hairstyles, body types, tattoos and piercings created so that crowds match the specific area they occupy.