Grand Theft Auto 6 fans have spotted a cheeky nod to Vice City protagonist Tommy Vercetti in the game’s second trailer. In GTA 6’s second trailer, we get a mini-montage of a day in the life of co-protagonist Jason Duvall. One key moment sees him walking into a store, slapping the cashier, and taking cash out of the register. However, Twitter user GameVerse spotted something of note. At the 33-second mark of the trailer, right as the cashier turns his head, you can see a painting of a lizard on the wall. The lizard happens to be wearing a blue floral shirt – the same one as Tommy Vercetti from GTA: Vice City.
It’s somewhat remarkable that this detail has largely gone unnoticed for a year, given the fact that the trailer has hundreds of millions of views and has been hyperanalyzed by fans. However, it’s easy to miss since the lizard is obscured until the cashier is slapped, and it’s only visible for half a second. It’s also just blurry enough that if you’re not really looking for it, it may not stand out. It seems like a safe bet to imagine there will be plenty of other references to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, given that the two titles share a setting.
However, you probably shouldn’t expect Tommy to show up in the flesh. Not only did actor Ray Liotta pass away in 2022, but Rockstar has always tried to keep the PS2-era titles separate from the other entries. In response to a fan question back in 2011Rockstar revealed its “logic” behind how it separates the different universes but, of course, it could always change this if it really wanted to.
“The ‘universes’ are the worlds interpreted at different definitions, 2D, 3D and high definition, so we felt brands and radio/background characters would exist in both, but three-dimensional characters would not,” said Rockstar. This is the logic (as far as it could be considered logical) behind it – so no, we don’t believe any GTA 3 characters could exist in the GTA 4 universe.”
GTA 6 will seemingly feature Phil Cassidy, but it doesn’t appear to be the same version from the original GTA: Vice City. The new version has both of his arms, which wouldn’t be possible if it were the same continuity, given that he blew his arm off in the 80s.
GTA 6 will be released on November 19th, 2026, for PS5 and Xbox Series Pre-orders will open this Thursday, June 25th.
Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN’s news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.