Grand Theft Auto: Vice City character appears to return in GTA 6
You've got to hand it to that new arm...
While we saw many, many things in Trailer 2 for GTA 6, one thing that caught our eye was a familiar face from the last time we visited this neck of the Grand Theft Auto woods.
In Grand Theft Auto 3, released way back in 2001, protagonist Claude meets the one-armed Phil Cassidy, a dodgy gun dealer, during the mission Arms Shortage.
In Vice City, released in 2002 (imagine getting a GTA every few years…) and set in 1986, we learn more about Phil Cassidy and how he ended up losing his arm.
Fast forward to Trailer 2, and we see a very familiar-looking face during an advert for Phil’s Ammu-Nation, a gun shop commonly found in GTA games.
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There is a crucial difference, however, as the character who looks a lot like Phil has both arms intact, and it's hard to hear if actor Gary Busey has reprised the role or if we have an entirely new voice actor for GTA 6.
We actually know next to nothing about the cast, with little more than fan speculation to go on for even the most prominent characters in the game.
This puts some cold water on the theory, but something to note is that there are multiplayer GTA timelines, the 2D, 3D and HD universes.
Phil Cassidy featured exclusively in the 3D universe, and it’s not beyond reason to think that Rockstar may have retconned some aspects of those games’ storylines as Vice City makes the jump to the HD universe seeing as they are over two decades old.
Perhaps Phil has very strong genetics and has a son who looks very similar, or it might be that there is a certain Leonidian gun-toting phenotype.
We’ve still got a ways to go before we find out more, however, as GTA 6 was recently delayed all the way until May 2026.
For those of us wanting to play it on PC, it may be time to start saving up for a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series console, as otherwise we might not get to play it until 2027 or 2028…
Read more on GTA:
- Full list of GTA 5 cheat codes
- Full list of GTA Vice City cheat codes
- Full list of GTA San Andreas cheats
- Full list of GTA 3 cheat codes
- Full list of GTA 4 cheat codes
- GTA 6 release date - all the latest rumours
- Fastest car in GTA 5 - how to get it
- GTA 5 mods - all our favourites
- GTA 5 voice actors - the full cast
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Authors
Cole Luke is a freelance journalist and video producer who contributes to RadioTimes.com's Gaming section. He also has bylines for Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, Network N and more.