Rockstar Games has confirmed that the GTA 6 map is twice the size of the one in Grand Theft Auto 5. Grand Theft Auto 6 takes place in Leonida, a fictional take on Florida. The state will also have localized weather, including tropical storms and hurricanes.
The details come from a new preview in the latest issue of Game Informer. It includes comments from two senior Rockstar developers and new details on the GTA 6 map’s regions and wildlife.
How big the GTA 6 map is
According to Aaron Garbut, Rockstar’s head of development and co-studio head, Leonida is the biggest map the studio has ever built “by some degree.” He said it is twice as large as GTA 5’s world, with more detail.
Garbut said the team paid as much attention to interiors as to streets. He said the team hit “a critical mass with the numbers of our interiors,” so the buildings feel real inside and out.
He added that the world is “a cohesive whole with the density of content and a hand-crafted quality to every bit.”
Weather that changes across Leonida
Rockstar also rebuilt its weather system. Now, different areas of Leonida can now have very different conditions at the same time. As a result, players might stand under clear skies while rain falls a short distance away. It mirrors the sudden showers common in Florida.
Owen Shepherd, Rockstar’s vice president of art for lighting and rendering, explained the change to Game Informer. “We have re-engineered our weather system to make everything much more localized and persistent, and really wanted the world to feel dynamically solid and achieve a sense of scale we haven’t felt before,” he said.
Shepherd also described new cloudscapes that roll across the map. They range from “the clear blue skies of a Miami winter” to storm clouds with sporadic lightning.
During severe storms, water pours from rooftops and lampposts while thunder and lightning light up the clouds. However, Rockstar has not said how often hurricanes and tropical storms will hit, or whether they change how missions play out.
Six regions make up the GTA 6 map
Leonida is split into six main regions, each based on a different part of Florida. Vice City is the urban center. It draws on Miami’s Art Deco buildings, beaches and cruise ship port. The Leonida Keys are the game’s version of the Florida Keys, while Grassrivers is a large wetland modeled on the Everglades.
Port Gellhorn reflects Florida’s declining tourist towns, with cheap motels and rundown shopping centers. Meanwhile, Rockstar calls Ambrosia the heart of Leonida. It is the industrial zone, full of factories and refineries. A local biker gang holds sway there.
Finally, Mount Kalaga National Park sits at the northern edge of the GTA 6 map. It focuses on wildlife and draws on the culture of the Florida-Georgia border.
Wildlife and activities
Rockstar says the GTA 6 map will be home to more than 170 animal species. That count includes 60 types of birds, 30 land mammals and sea life such as sharks, whales and jellyfish.
The Game Informer preview also lists the side activities confirmed so far:
- Base jumping, air boating and jet skiing
- Kayaking and scuba diving
- Street and off-road racing
- Billiards, gyms, mini golf and zoos
Grand Theft Auto 6 is coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.