GTA 6 map

GTA 6 is set in the state of Leonida, Rockstar's fictionalised Florida, and the map is split into six named regions rather than the single city plus hinterland of GTA 5. Rockstar first named the regions in 2025 and expanded on them in a September 29, 2026 Game Informer cover story, "Welcome to Leonida."

The six regions of Leonida#

Region	Real-world analogue	What it covers
Vice City	Miami and Miami Beach	Neon urban core, art deco beachfront, cruise port, dense traffic
Leonida Keys	The Florida Keys	Tropical island chain linked by causeway bridges, where Jason's story starts
Grassrivers	The Everglades	Swamp interior, airboats, alligators, wetland wildlife
Port Gellhorn	Panama City Beach / the Panhandle (reported)	Industrial docks, container yards, a faded tourist strip
Ambrosia	Clewiston on Lake Okeechobee	Factories, refineries and rural crime
Mount Kalaga National Park	North Florida's canyons	The state's northern wilderness, the map's vertical edge

Rockstar names the six regions without publishing a strict geographic order or a boundary map.

How big is the GTA 6 map?#

Rockstar describes Leonida as the biggest, most immersive map it has built. The Game Informer cover story characterises it as roughly twice the size of the GTA 5 map, with more density and more interiors.

Edge's October 29, 2026 cover story, written after a visit to Rockstar North, gives the clearest sense of scale so far. "The map is roughly twice the size of GTAV's; Rockstar says its total landmass, including Vice City and the surrounding areas, is nearly as large as the playable maps of GTAIV, GTAV and RDR2 combined." That is a comparison, not a measurement: as of October 29, 2026 Rockstar has still not published a square-mile figure, so any exact number circulating is an estimate. Community mapping projects have identified a long list of sub-regions beyond the six official ones, but those are fan reconstructions, not Rockstar confirmations.

Can you explore the whole map from the start?#

Reportedly yes, once a short introduction is done. IGN reported on October 29, 2026, citing Edge's preview as relayed by the GTA VI O'Clock podcast, that "the state of Leonida will open up relatively early on." IGN expects "some initial story bits to introduce the characters and mechanics" first, then: "if you wish to head north and see the top of the map at the start of the game, you can do so," and "you won't be chained to Vice City for the first 10 hours if you don't want to be."

That would follow GTA 5, where the map was open once the tutorials ended, rather than GTA 4, which kept Liberty City's bridges blocked until Niko's story moved on. IGN also recalls that Red Dead Redemption 2 held back the whole map of the first Red Dead Redemption until the end of the game.

Two caveats, as of October 30, 2026:

• The exact point is not confirmed. The online version of Edge's feature that we read does not say when the map opens, and Rockstar has not said it on the Newswire. Treat "relatively early" as reported, not as a mission number.
• The story has its own gates. Edge does confirm "some natural gating to introduce pauses and downtime between missions": sometimes Jason and Lucia must raise cash before the next job is offered. That slows how fast the story moves, not where you can drive.

Edge reports that Aaron Garbut, after years of playing the game, is still "encountering locations he had not seen previously," so even an open map will take a while to see in full.

What is new about the world#

• More interiors and accessible buildings. Rockstar has said a "huge number" of buildings can be entered, without giving a figure.
• A live weather system. Game Informer reported that tropical storms and hurricanes can strike Leonida, with weather varying by area so it can rain in one part of the map while you stand in sunshine elsewhere.
• Wildlife. More than 170 animal species, many of them trackable in the style of Red Dead Redemption 2.
• Denser, more varied crowds. Pedestrians differ in height, build, skin, tattoos and clothing.
• Activities across the state. Everything from airboat and off-road activities in Grassrivers to highlands climbing around Mount Kalaga.
• Narrower roads. Edge reports that GTA 5's wide roads and highways have been narrowed to feel, in Rob Nelson's words, "a more believable size".
• A longer day. The day-night cycle has been "extended substantially", per Edge: sunsets linger and nights stretch out. Nelson said that when the team tested GTA 6 with GTA 5's timings, "everything felt too fast".
• Public transport. Edge reports working bus and train networks across Leonida; the gameplay features guide has the detail.

Rockstar has not confirmed how often storms and hurricanes hit or whether they affect the story, and it has neither confirmed nor ruled out theme-park or space-centre analogues.

Vice City is the heart of the map#

Vice City is the biggest city in the state and the centre of the campaign. Previews describe it as built from modern-day Miami rather than the 1980s nostalgia of the 2002 game, with smartphones, social media and contemporary culture woven through it. Our characters guide covers the people you meet there, and the gameplay features guide covers how the world reacts to you. The Game Informer feature adds the latest detail.