The name Vice City is having a moment, and not only in gaming. WWE filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in August to register “Vice City” for professional wrestling and sports entertainment purposes – and it has now dropped that filing entirely.
The paperwork never had anything to do with video games. The listed uses covered wrestling performances, broadcasts, websites, fan club services and other entertainment activities. Still, the timing was impossible to overlook: Rockstar Games is preparing to take players back to its own fictional version of Miami on November 19, and the Vice City name is everywhere in the run-up to launch.
Filed in August, abandoned in September
WWE submitted an express abandonment of the application on September 2, and the USPTO processed it on September 21. No public reason for the decision has been given, so it remains unclear why the company chose to walk away from a name it had only just filed for.
There is one corporate detail worth knowing, even though it proves nothing: Take-Two Interactive owns both Rockstar Games and 2K, and 2K is the publisher of WWE’s games. At this point there is no evidence that either 2K or Take-Two had any role in the abandonment.
Why WWE wanted the name at all
The wrestling side of the story has its own Miami connection. WWE’s Lola Vice is billed from Miami, Florida, and has worked the Vice City moniker into her presentation. Even with the trademark application gone, nothing changes there – she keeps her name and her Miami-based gimmick.
The practical outcome is simple: GTA 6’s Vice City is left untouched, and Rockstar’s use of the name faces no new complication from the wrestling world.
Rockstar keeps pushing the setting itself
Rockstar’s campaign has increasingly put the location front and center rather than just the characters. Physical signage welcoming people to “Vice City” has been appearing in Miami, which blurs the line between the real city and the fictional one the game is built on. With the release date closing in, more promotional material is expected, and the Vice City name should only grow more prominent.
If you’re following the run-up to launch, we’ve also covered the fact that GTA 6 Online won’t be there on day one, and Rockstar’s own comments on the game’s world.
Where to go next
For the PC question and Take-Two’s stance on the platform, see our piece on GTA 6 on PC, and everything else is collected in our GTA news hub.
FAQ
WWE applied to register “Vice City” with the USPTO in August. The application listed sports entertainment uses such as wrestling performances, broadcasts, websites and fan club services – not video games.
WWE filed an express abandonment on September 2, and the USPTO processed it on September 21.
No reason for the decision has been made public, and there is currently no evidence that 2K or Take-Two Interactive played any role in it.
No. GTA 6’s Vice City is unaffected, and the game is still set for release on November 19.
Nothing changes for her. WWE continues to use Lola Vice’s name and her Miami-based presentation despite the abandoned filing.