GTA Vice City’s Web Version Taken Down

For a brief period, you could play the original version of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, in its entirety, on your web browser. Unfortunately, the group behind the project apparently received a DMCA takedown request from Take-Two Interactive, the company that owns GTA developer Rockstar. The group promptly took down the emulated game and left the message including a screenshot of an email from web protection company Ebrand, which reportedly acted on Take-Two’s behalf.

GTA Vice City Today Versus 2002

The original version of GTA Vice City contained songs that are not present in The Definitive Edition. Songs removed from The Definitive Edition and other ports of GTA Vice City include songs by Rockit, Michael Jackson, Kate Bush, Irakere, Ozzy Osbourne, Tyrone Brunson and Afrika Bambaataa and The Soul Sonic Force.

Browser-based emulation was usually reserved for older games from consoles including the Sega Genesis, NES and SNES. If you’re lucky, you can run the 1993 version of DOOM on your browser. The group that set up the site DOS.Zone has other games you can try out. Among those games are Quake, Raiden, Space Invaders (1995), the original Sid Meyer’s Civilization, Worms Armageddon, X-COM: Terror from the Deep, 3D Pinball, Aladdin, Earthworm Jim, Golden Axe, Mortal Kombat, Rage Against the Machine, Rayman, Strider (1989), System Shock, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Batman Forever.

GTA Vice City’s Lore

GTA Vice City was originally released in 2002 for the PlayStation 2, while the PC and Xbox versions came out in 2003. The game focuses on Tommy Vercetti, voiced by the late Ray Liotta, a gangster recently released from prison. Tommy’s boss sends him to Vice City to set up drug operations. This escalates to Tommy having to recoup the drugs and the money lost during a drug deal gone wrong.

Other famous actors and personalities who lent their voices to the game include the late Burt Reynolds, Luis Guzmán, Philip Michael Thomas and the late Youree Harris, who voiced Auntie Poulet. Harris was known as a spokesperson for the Psychic Readers Network, under the name Miss Cleo.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition came out in 2021, which featured the remastered versions of Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City and San Andreas. This collection of games was met with mixed reviews at launch. On Steam, as of December 27, 2025, GTA Vice City has Very Positive reviews.