What Happened To Tommy Vercetti After GTA: Vice City?

The "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" story tracks Tommy Vercetti's rise to power. The enterprising gangster, voiced by "Goodfellas" star Ray Liotta, started out as a low-level enforcer for the Forelli Crime Family of Liberty City, but he ended "Vice City" as a fully fledged mob boss. The game debuted in 2002, but its story played out in 1986, which means that however you look at it, it's been a heck of a long time since we've checked back in with Vercetti. Thankfully, we have at least some idea of what happened to him after we stopped playing "Vice City." 

Vercetti's story goes like this: After being released from jail in 1986 following a 15-year bid, he was sent to Vice City to oversee a drug deal that very quickly went south when armed attackers descended. The gunmen stole the drugs and money, but Vercetti survived. He then set out to discover who betrayed him, ultimately rising through the criminal ranks to become a crime boss with an iron grip on Vice City's underworld. With lawyer Ken Rosenberg by his side, Vercetti was seemingly set to maintain his standing as the kingpin of Vice City for years to come.

Since then, while we haven't officially returned to Vercetti's Vice City, there have been several references to the former Forelli hitman, giving us some idea of what became of Vercetti after "GTA: Vice City." With "GTA 6" also being set in Rockstar's version of Miami, many players will surely be wondering whether we'll learn more about what became of the man who conquered the city back in '86. For now, here's everything we know.

Despite being one of the best GTA characters of all time, not much is known about Tommy Vercetti's experiences post-"GTA: Vice City." The sequel game, 2004's "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," was set in 1992, and opened with a short film entitled "The Introduction" in which we see lawyer Ken Rosenberg trying to call Tommy via a payphone. It seems Ken has just completed a stint in the Fort Carson Medical Center in Fort Carson, San Andreas, to try to deal with his substance addiction issues. But Tommy has clearly moved on. "Ah yes, Tommy Vercetti please," Ken asks over the phone. "Please tell him Ken Rosenberg called." Evidently, the person on the other end of the line has never heard of him, prompting Ken to rage, "I made that ingrate, and now he won't take my calls?!" At the very least, then, we know Tommy was still active in 1992.

Later in "San Andreas," during the mission "The Meat Business," Ken refers to protagonist Carl Johnson as Tommy, prompting the former to ask, "Who the f*** is Tommy?" That's the last in-game mention of the Vice City crime lord we got, which means that within the in-universe timeline, Tommy was last referenced in 1992.

In 2002, however, Rockstar set up a promotional website for "GTA: Vice City" called "Kent Paul's 80's Nostalgia Zone!" on which Kent reflected on the 1980s. Tommy gets a mention when Kent writes, "See, Tom, I didn't mention your name, nowhere. Maybe you won't get us killed now, okay?" Since Kent was addressing Tommy in the present tense, the character was presumably still alive in 2002, which means he was still active after the events of "GTA 3," which took place in 2001.

"Grand Theft Auto 6" will bring gamers back to Vice City 24 years after their last rampage down Ocean Drive. With the game being set in 2026, it will have been 40 years since Tommy rose to power in Vice City within the in-game timeline. Could he still be alive? We know Tommy Vercetti's OG save spot is back in "GTA 6," but for now it remains unclear if he'll show up in "GTA 6."

For one thing, "GTA 6" belongs to the so-called "HD Universe" while "Vice City" belongs to the "3D Universe," both of which have separate timelines and histories. During a 2012 interview with The Guardian, Rockstar co-founder and "GTA 5" co-writer Dan Houser addressed rumors that prior protagonists would appear in the then-upcoming game. He confirmed no characters from before "GTA 4" would appear in "GTA 5" due to what the outlet referred to as "a schism" between the 3D Universe and the HD Universe which essentially made Tommy and his fellow 3D Universe protagonists "mythical characters from a bygone era." Whatever happened to Tommy, then, it officially happened in a separate timeline than the events of "GTA 4," "GTA 5," and "GTA 6."

That's not to say the 3D universe timeline is over. In a Q&A on the official Rockstar website, the developer responded to a question about graffiti in "Grand Theft Auto 4" that mentions somebody called Tommy. "This was a little joke for fans of the series," they wrote. "The 'Grand Theft Auto III' timeline is not necessarily over — but it is a different world to 'Grand Theft Auto IV.'" Still, fans surely expect some sort of update on Tommy in "GTA 6," and it seems very possible that they'll get it.