GTA 6 Map Will Be Twice the Size of GTA 5

GTA 6's map will be twice the size of GTA 5's world, according to Rockstar North co-studio head Aaron Garbut. Leonida will be divided into six regions, including Vice City, rural areas, wetlands, islands, and a national park. Rockstar also intends to use the story to take Jason and Lucia through different parts of that territory.

The increased scale will be accompanied by an emphasis on density rather than area alone. Garbut said the team focused on rooftops, alleys, interiors, and the spaces between those elements. The goal is to make buildings feel more real both inside and out.

Leonida's six regions

The confirmed regions are Vice City, Leonida Keys, Grassrivers, Port Gellhorn, Ambrosia, and Mount Kalaga National Park. The source does not provide the individual dimensions of each one, but presents them as distinct parts of the fictional state of Leonida. This structure places urban, rural, coastal, and natural environments within the same map.

Vice City will be the most prominent region and brings back the location fans encountered in 2002's GTA: Vice City. This time, the city forms part of a wider territory instead of representing the entire main setting by itself. The five other regions will expand the range of environments available during the story and free exploration.

Ambrosia is described as a more rural area filled with factories and refineries. The region is dominated by a biker gang that controls the territory. According to IGN, this group appears to be different from the Lost MC, which had a major presence in GTA 4 and GTA 5.

Rockstar wants the campaign to introduce the map without requiring players to discover every important region on their own. The story has been designed to take Jason and Lucia around Leonida and demonstrate the contrasts between its areas. That includes the divide between more affluent and poorer parts of the fictional state.

The story will not automatically take players to every corner of the world, however. The description makes clear that the campaign will not cover every inch of the map. Free exploration will still be necessary for anyone who wants to see everything Leonida offers beyond the main route.

Fast travel will use shared rides

GTA 6 will also feature a form of fast travel based on ride-sharing services. Players can enter a car and quickly move around town, but the ride may be shared with other passengers. These journeys will feature unique conversations, turning transportation into another opportunity to hear from Leonida's residents.

Players who do not want to talk or watch the scenery will be able to scroll through Snapmatic during the ride. The app serves as the GTA universe's parody of Instagram. Jason and Lucia will not be able to publish posts, however, because they are on the run and excessive social media activity could put them in danger.

The map will also host a broad selection of side activities. The coverage lists base jumping, billiards, gyms, kayaking, mini golf, scuba diving, street and off-road racing, zoos, air boating, and jet skiing. Rockstar has not detailed which regions will contain each activity or how players will unlock them.

What this changes for players

In practice, twice the size does not necessarily mean every journey will take twice as long. The campaign will help introduce the regions, while the ride-sharing service will provide an alternative for crossing certain distances. At the same time, passengers, conversations, and Snapmatic suggest that even fast travel can contain smaller moments from Leonida's world.

The emphasis on interiors may also make the scale more noticeable at street level. Garbut said the number of these spaces reached a critical mass during development, but he did not provide an exact total. It is therefore not yet possible to numerically compare the number of accessible buildings with GTA 5.

What remains unknown

Rockstar has not explained which measurement it used to determine that the map is twice the size of GTA 5's. The dimensions of each region, the balance between land and water, and Leonida's exact boundaries also remain undisclosed. The source does not say whether all six regions will be open from the beginning of the story.

The cost of rides, the destinations covered by the shared transport service, and the requirements for using fast travel have not been revealed either. It also remains unclear how much of the campaign will be spent in each region and which locations will be left entirely to free exploration. IGN compiled the details from Game Informer's coverage and statements from Rockstar representatives.