Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, recompiled from the PS2 disc into a real Windows and Linux program: 60 fps and up, widescreen to 32:9, mouse aim and a built-in trainer.
Pick your system and the version of the game you own. Every button goes straight to the file on the project’s GitHub Releases page.
This site hosts no files and gives no help getting game files: every project needs a copy you own.
Drop the .zip or .AppImage you downloaded. Your browser calculates its SHA-256 with WebCrypto and compares it with all 30 files published in the gta-vcs-recomp and VCSNative GitHub releases. The file never leaves your computer.
Windows: certutil -hashfile FILE SHA256 · Linux: sha256sum FILE · macOS: shasum -a 256 FILE
It never came to PC.Now the PS2 codebecomes C++and your own PC builds itfrom your own disc.
Vice City Stories came out on the PSP in 2006 and on the PS2 in 2007, and never got a PC release. gta-vcs-recomp builds it on your PC in four steps, all run by its launcher:
.iso and checks that it is the USA release (SLUS-21590).vcs.exe together with a native renderer, sound and FFmpeg for the movies.The same idea, applied to the PSP game, is what PSPRecomp does for VCSNative: the MIPS program is translated to C++ ahead of time.
In autumn 2026 two native PC versions appeared on GitHub: one built from the PS2 disc, one from the PSP game. Their releases have been downloaded about 26,277 times (gta-vcs-recomp 20,710, VCSNative 5,567, as of November 8, 2026).
gothamor/gta-vcs-recomp · v0.2.3 · GPL-3.0
“A native Windows and Linux port of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (PS2, USA, SLUS-21590), made by recompiling the game’s PS2 executable into C++.”
Frames per second
The highest fixed cap in F2; 60 by default, or uncapped.
OverkillLabs3/vice-city-stories-recomp · v1.0.0 · MIT
A native build of the PSP version on the PSPRecomp framework, with a Vulkan graphics stack, a neon colour grade, volumetric clouds and an optional texture pack.
PSP_DATA
Settings and trainer
F2 opens every option, F5 the built-in trainer, F8 takes a screenshot.
jessicanataliagta/PSPRecomp · MIT · 255 stars
The static recompilation framework for PSP software that VCSNative is built on. Its first and only game profile is Vice City Stories (profiles/vcs).
Widescreen
Hor+ aspect ratios from 4:3 up to super-ultrawide.
Internal resolution
From the PS2’s native 1x up to 8x, set in F2.
.iso| Project | Supported copy | Input | Setup |
|---|---|---|---|
| gta-vcs-recomp | PS2, USA, SLUS-21590 | .iso disc image | Builds on your PC: 20–60 min first time |
| VCSNative | PSP version | PSP_DATA folder with the decrypted executable and USRDIR | Unzip and play |
| PSPRecomp | PSP (VCS profile) | Same as VCSNative | Build the framework yourself |
None of the projects includes the game. This site does not explain how to obtain, rip or decrypt game files. Use a copy you own, and do not share the build it produces.
VCS-Recomp-0.2.3-windows.zip (84.6 MB) and check its SHA-256 above.C:\Games\VCS (not Program Files, not OneDrive).VCSLauncher.exe: Folder → Disc → Build tools → Build → Play.Older releases, back to v0.0.1, are listed with their notes and files in the gta-vcs-recomp changelog.
GTA VCS Recomp (gothamor/gta-vcs-recomp) is a native Windows and Linux port of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, made by recompiling the PS2 game’s executable (USA release, SLUS-21590) into C++. It draws the game with Direct3D 11 on Windows and Vulkan on Linux. The latest release is v0.2.3, published November 6, 2026; it has 515 stars and its releases have been downloaded 20,710 times.
No. An emulator such as PCSX2 runs the PS2 program and translates it while you play. A static recompilation translates the game’s code once, ahead of time, into C++ that your PC compiles into an ordinary vcs.exe. That is why the first build takes 20–60 minutes, and why the result runs past 100 fps without an emulator.
No. VCS-Recomp-0.2.3-windows.zip contains the launcher, the source code and an embedded Python, nothing from the game. You need your own copy of the PS2 USA disc as an .iso; the build reads the executable from it, and the finished game streams everything else from the same disc image. This site does not explain how to obtain one.
Only the USA PS2 release, serial SLUS-21590. European and other regions are refused with unsupported executable build or SLUS_215.90 not found on disc. The PSP version is a different program and does not work with gta-vcs-recomp; it is what VCSNative uses.
gta-vcs-recomp (gothamor/gta-vcs-recomp) recompiles the PS2 version and builds it on your PC from your .iso. VCSNative (OverkillLabs3/vice-city-stories-recomp) is a ready-made build of the PSP version on the PSPRecomp framework, for Windows and Apple Silicon Macs; it needs your own PSP game files in a PSP_DATA folder and has had one release (v1.0.0). See the comparison.
Download only from the GitHub Releases page of the project. The launchers are not signed, so Windows SmartScreen may show “Windows protected your PC”: the README says to choose More info → Run anyway. Before that, compare the file’s SHA-256 with the release (the checker on this page does it locally).
There is no Android build of any of the three projects. On Steam Deck, the Linux AppImage is the closest option but SteamOS is not one of the distributions the README lists. Details on Android & Steam Deck.
F2 opens the settings: presets, resolution up to 8x, widescreen up to 32:9, frame rate up to 240 fps, vsync, sound and every key, mouse and gamepad binding. F5 opens a built-in trainer, F8 takes a screenshot and F3 shows a performance overlay.