GTA 6 map: Vice City setting and Leonida location explained

It's been a long time since we last stepped into Vice City, way back in the PS2 era – in 2002's GTA: Vice City, no less.

This time around we'll play as Lucia, and as we near the game's release date we're learning more about what to expect of the map. It sounds like there's going to be a lot to be getting on with.

Read on to find out everything we know about the GTA 6 map, including what it's based on, how big it is, and more.

GTA 6 map explained: What is the GTA 6 map based on?

The GTA 6 map features Vice City as the main city and the wider state of Leonida.

This was confirmed in Trailer 1, which you can check out just above (if you haven't watched it countless times already, that is), and in a press release where Rockstar states: "Grand Theft Auto VI heads to the state of Leonida, home to the neon-soaked streets of Vice City."

Leonida is Rockstar Games's take on Florida, where the real-life Miami is situated. For the uninitiated, many memes purport Florida to be a little more "unhinged", with denizens' strange antics garnering many of their residents the title of 'Florida Man'.

As can be seen in the screengrab from the trailer below, a social media account shows that Rockstar is leaning heavily toward this stereotype, as an account of the in-game equivalent of social media is called "PlanetLeonidaMan" – and has shared a man in just his underwear being chased by the police.

Another such "Leonida Man" is depicted watering his garden wearing nought but a rather revealing little pair of pants – no doubt perfect for the tropical and humid subtropical climates of the muggy state.

According to the GTA Fandom page about Leonida, the name comes from Juan Ponce de León, a Spanish conquistador who was in charge of the first European ships to Florida.

GTA 6 map size: How big is it?

The GTA 6 map is going to be very large.

That's all we can really glean in an official capacity, as the trailer demonstrates that there's a huge variety of different locations - but not much more information is given.

Vice City looks extremely densely packed, and is leaps and bounds ahead of how it looked in GTA: Vice City - but it still retains its core identity, such as the multiple islands connected by bridges and the main promenade, as well as a very large and packed beach.

There are many different types of neighbourhoods depicted, too, and it's not clear if all of these are in Vice City itself or spread across different towns - but we would suspect it's the latter.

There's plenty of countryside, as well, such as swamps, forests and everglades that are reminiscent of a souped-up Red Dead Redemption 2.

But rather than horses quaintly trotting along, there are rednecks with powerful airboats and monster trucks.

There are plenty of interior locations, too, such as clubs, convenience stores and homes, but these were all featured in prior entries.

What's shown here is in far higher fidelity than we've ever seen from the developers, and there are bound to be many more.

GTA 6 map leaks: What are the rumours saying?

A recent rumour about the map comes from an in-depth analysis about every location involved in the game's massive leaks. This analysis on Reddit details how the map could feature sections of locations outside of Florida/Leonida.

GTA's version of Georgia could be involved somewhat, and there could be multiple towns/cities to explore. Hopefully we see more in the rumoured second trailer.

Another more recent rumoured leak suggests the map will feature advanced dynamic weather, with thunderstorms and even in-game temperature affecting NPC behaviour.

IGN's GTFM took a look at a supposed rendition of the map that features multiple cities and a central lake based on what we know from the leaks. This map came from @GTASixInfo on X (formerly Twitter) and you can check it out down below.

With the most recent leak supposedly coming from a Rockstar employee's son via TikTok, fans have been going wild with extra speculation, as those leaks suggested that there would be multiple towns and cities – and the trailer seems to confirm as much.

How close this mock-up is to the actual game remains to be seen, but we wouldn't be surprised if it's not far from the mark.

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