Ocean Beach and Washington Beach keep their Vice City names

What it is

Rockstar's Vice City description talks about "the pastel art deco hotels and bright white sands of Ocean Beach", and the Vintage Vice City Pack mentions "the world-famous Ocean Beach". The Ultimate Edition's fishing boat bonus is described as a "gradient pink and blue Squalo docked at Washington Beach". The same Vice City page also says: "We're a long way from the '80s, but Vice City is still the sun and fun capital of America."

Why it matters

Ocean Beach and Washington Beach were the two southern beach districts of the original Vice City, where Tommy's story started. The Squalo was one of that game's speedboats. Keeping those names tells returning players that this is the same city forty years on, not just a new map with a familiar label. It also gives fans real landmarks to look for once the map is out.

More easter eggs

• Pißwasser and Logger Light return at Uncle Jack's LiquorsTrailer 1 shows Pißwasser and Logger Light branding in the liquor store Jason and Lucia rob. Both appeared in earlier GTA games; whether their return signals broader continuity is unconfirmed.
• Righteous Slaughter, Jimmy De Santa's favourite shooter, is back on a T-shirtA man in Trailer 1's High Rollerz Lifestyle clip wears a Righteous Slaughter shirt, the Call of Duty parody Jimmy played nonstop in GTA V, now apparently with an "...Ops" spin-off.
• The Cheetah Classic on Ocean Drive wears a CH33TAH plateThe white, Testarossa-style sports car parked in Trailer 1's neon street shot carries a Leonida vanity plate that spells out its own name: CH33TAH.
• The Hawk & Little Morgan revolvers come "from the Vercetti Estate"An Ultimate Edition bonus is a his-and-hers pair of revolvers that Rockstar says were sourced from the Vercetti Estate, Tommy Vercetti's mansion in the original Vice City.
• The Ocean View Hotel, Tommy's first safehouse, is backRockstar's own caption for a Vintage Vice City Pack image places Jason and Lucia outside the Ocean View Hotel, the Ocean Beach hotel where Vice City's story began.
• Theory: "Love Is a Long Road" was picked as a joke about the waitTrailer 1 is set to Tom Petty's "Love Is a Long Road". Many fans read the choice as a double meaning: a song about Jason and Lucia, and a nod to the decade-long wait for GTA VI.