Why does Lance betray Tommy in GTA Vice City?

There are certain moments from gaming history that have been seared onto the player's mind, and Lance's betrayal in GTA Vice City is undoubtedly one of them. After being ambushed and robbed of their money and illegal narcotics, both Lance and Tommy are left to fend for themselves in Vice City.

Eventually, the two teamed up to form a friendship that would define the dawn of a new era in Vice City. After finding common ground in seeking retribution against Diaz, Lance and Tommy, the man who robbed Tommy and killed Lance's brother and stole their drugs, were dead set on Vice City.

The first significant stepping stone in their path to dominance culminated in one of the best missions of GTA Vice City - "Rub Out." After putting Diaz down, Lance and Tommy could finally establish their dominance over Vice City, but what went wrong?

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Diving into what led to Lance's betrayal in GTA Vice City

Lance and Vic

Lance Vance and his brother, Vic Vance, arrived in Vice City and quickly established a strong narcotics business. This was fleshed out to a great extent in GTA Vice City Stories, where players experienced the story of Vic and Lance as they took over the town and ran a successful business.

Throughout GTA Vice City Stories, Lance always had trouble with his older brother, with Vic hogging the whole spotlight as Lance was patronized. For the most part, the younger sibling was rarely ever in the driving seat and was sidelined and overshadowed by Vic Vance.

This led to him resenting the position he found himself in, but when Vic was killed in the ambush by Diaz - it was the perfect opportunity for him to step up. After the ambush, he found an ally in Tommy Vercetti in GTA Vice City, but that relationship quickly resembled the one he had with Vic.

Being sidelined by Tommy in GTA Vice City

Lance and Tommy had a relatively strong bond, with the latter even rushing to save Vance during the "Death Row" mission. But that was precisely when the cracks first began to appear, as Tommy was visibly upset with Lance over his impulsive decision to try and take out Diaz by himself.

Although Lance failed in his mission, Tommy chooses to let bygones be bygones and still considers Lance to be a strong ally. Together they took down Diaz, and the assumption was that the pair would run Vice City together in a partnership.

But anyone who has ever played GTA Vice City knows that Tommy pretty much takes the reigns and barely counts on Lance to do much. Their relationship worsens in GTA Vice City as Lance gets upset with Tommy regarding how he feels patronized by him, just as he felt when he worked with his brother, Vic.

Throughout the game, Tommy grew incredibly powerful and even proclaimed that the Vercetti business was all his and built it all by himself. This ultimately broke Lance, and he let Tommy's boss know of the money being counterfeit during the deal and betrayed his former best friend.

This would eventually be his downfall as Tommy wipes out Sonny's men and Lance all by himself in the Scarface-like finale of GTA Vice City.