Welcome back to Kotaku’s semi-regular Grand Theft Auto 6 column that is still called Stealing Cars because I can’t come up with a better name. Today, we’re looking at how awesome the cars look in GTA 6, checking in on the Florida Joker, sharing some advice on how to avoid being scammed, and having fun at the Phil Collins concert in GTA: Vice City Stories.
Let’s All Jam Out To Phil Collins In GTA: Vice City Stories
It’s weird to call any GTA game forgotten, as the series is one of the biggest video game franchises in the world. And yet, I’d say Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories classifies as a forgotten entry in the series, especially considering Rockstar Games has only ported it once. Originally released on PSP in 2006, Rockstar only ported VCS once, to the PS2 in 2007. And since then, it’s been left behind, forgotten by Rockstar Games and plenty of the franchise’s fans.
While GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas get plenty of ports and remasters, VCS is left to rot. Even Liberty City Stories, a GTA game released on PSP before VCS, got ported to Android and iOS as well as PS2.
It’s a shame that Vice City Stories, a genuinely good game that plays better than the original Vice City and features a wider array of weapons and vehicles, has been forgotten by Rockstar and fans, because it contains one of the coolest moments in any GTA game.
At one point, Phil Collins performs “In the Air Tonight” on stage in Vice City, and you get to watch it. And this isn’t a parody or a soundalike. No, this is actually Phil Collins performing one of his biggest hits inside a PSP GTA game. It’s wild to watch and, honestly, hard to believe it happened back in 2006. Yet it did, and until Rockstar ports Vice City Stories to PC or other platforms, it will be tricky to experience this yourself in-game.
With GTA: Vice City Stories turning 20 years old this year and with us being a few months away from the release of GTA 6, which is set in Vice City, I’m feeling a need to return to those older games set in Rockstar’s strange version of 1980s Miami. The vibes were immaculate.
The Florida Joker Is Asking People To Buy Him GTA 6
Let’s check in on the Florida Joker, aka that weird dude who has tattoos all over his face. Years ago, he went viral online after he was arrested and appeared on video in court with his face tattoos. Rockstar then included a direct parody of the Florida Joker in the first GTA 6 trailer, and for about two years, he threatened to sue the studio over it. Then he dropped that silly attempt to squeeze $2 million out of Rockstar Games and began asking the company to hire him to voice the character.
What’s he up to now? Well, he posts videos of himself dancing on Instagram to his over 80,000 followers. More recently, following the reveal that GTA 6‘s Ultimate Edition will cost $100, the Florida Joker posted a request for someone to send him that amount so he could pre-order the game
“Some PayPal 100$ so I can pre-order GTA six at midnight please and thank you.” 24 hours after posting the request, it has 36 likes, no comments, and no update on whether the Florida Joker got his copy of GTA 6 pre-ordered.
Please Don’t Give A Random Website Money For Early Access To GTA 6
A lot of people want to play Grand Theft Auto 6 as soon as possible. And many of these people are likely willing to pay extra money if it means they get to play early. Naturally, when you have a lot of people who want something and are willing to pay for it, you end up with scammers showing up to take that money from them, using tricks and deceit.
And that’s exactly what’s happening online right now, according to MalwareBytes and NordVPN. Both anti-virus software companies posted blogs earlier this month highlighting some of the various scam sites that are floating around out there. Some claim to let you play GTA 6 early. Others promise that you’ll be able to play on PC. Or even on your Android device. Almost all of them use genAI to create fake, unofficial GTA 6 artwork that mimics Rockstar’s house look, all in an effort to confuse people scrolling through Facebook or other sites with shady ads.
Please, please, please don’t give any of these sites money. Don’t download anything they are hosting. And really, just avoid them like the plague.
To reiterate: Grand Theft Auto 6 is launching on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Rockstar has yet to confirm a PC port. One is likely to arrive eventually, but officially, there is no PC version of GTA 6 at this time. The game also doesn’t have an early access period like other big games, so any shop promising that is lying. If you want a copy, your best bet is to buy it directly from Sony or Xbox via their digital stores located on each company’s console. Or wait for a disc version and buy it then. Just avoid scam sites as they can wreck your computer, steal your information, and cost you a lot of headaches that will make it hard for you to play GTA 6 later this winter.
Holy Crap, The Cars In GTA 6 Look Amazing
I’ve already talked about how Grand Theft Auto 6 looks incredible. But as fans have had more time to look at screenshots, we are spotting more details. For example, the cars in GTA 6 look far better than anything found in Grand Theft Auto V. A GTA fan on Reddit hopped into Forza Horizon 6 and took some comparison screenshots to see how GTA 6’s cars match up to the recently released racing sim. The results? Pretty impressive.
And that Reddit poster isn’t the only one impressed by GTA 6‘s cars. GTA modder and modeler WiseGuy posted a thread on Twitter running through the various graphical upgrades they spotted between GTA V and GTA 6‘s cars. According to the modder, returning cars from GTA V now feature fully 3D-rendered details, like panel gaps, that previously, were done using 2D textures.
I’m a 3D Vehicle artist and have been modding GTA 5 vehicles for over 10 years now.
Here’s some of the major upgrades from GTA 5 to GTA 6 cars:
1. Returning models now have 3D panel gaps, instead of a 2D seam that has fake painted ambient occlusion. Some suspected GTA 6… pic.twitter.com/UU7yx2NYJe
— WiseGuy (@GTAWiseGuy) June 24, 2026
WiseGuy also noticed more detailed suspension near the tires. In GTA V, this part of every car was very, very low-res and generic-looking. Now it seems Rockstar is modeling these parts based on how they look on the actual cars each fictional design is based on. The modder also noticed that it seems like Rockstar is using far more 3D details, like door handles, on the cars in GTA 6. There’s a lot more in here, some of which might be too nitty-gritty for everyone, but here’s WiseGuy’s summary:
“Basically, what I’m saying is, the level of detail and lengths they’ve gone to for every car is nothing short of phenomenal. I hope they give this treatment and a ton of customization to all cars like the ones we’ve seen in detail.”
See You Later!
Stealing Cars will return…in the near future. We’re still working out the frequency of this column. And as we get buried in new game releases, it might slow down. But we’ll be back with more GTA 6 news and other related stuff you might care about soon.
