In a 2012 interview with The Guardian, Houser mentioned that the team visited various cities, including Istanbul and Aleppo, to get a feel for the architecture, culture, and atmosphere of the places they wanted to recreate in the game. Specifically, Aleppo's old city and its souks (traditional markets) were cited as an inspiration for the game's Vice City.
: Originally titled "War Zone Evacuation," the map is a recreation of a city occupied by an army, featuring moving populations and random activities to simulate a living, yet embattled, city. Key Features Urban Combat Layout gta vice city aleppo link
It took digital forensics experts only a few hours to debunk the clip. The "combat footage" was not from Aleppo at all. It was a . In a 2012 interview with The Guardian, Houser