Rockstar Games has finally lifted the lid on GTA 6, providing gamers the world over with a second trailer and confirmation of six locations that will be available within the fictional state of Leonida.
At the heart of Leonida sits Vice City, but there’s so much to pick at in the surrounding area that it becomes mind-boggling just how diverse and expansive this map truly is. From Vice City itself to the swamps, islands, highways and forests that surround the neon-soaked urban sprawl, it looks like it will take many hours of gameplay to explore the full map.
So, where is GTA 6 set, exactly? Let’s dive into the locations that have now been confirmed by Rockstar.
Image Credit: Rockstar Games
Leonida, like GTA 5’s San Andreas, is a fully fictional state – but it’s modelled on a real-world location, of course. In this case, Leonida is modelled on Florida, featuring everything from the white, sandy beaches to the ‘Keys’ that stretch out away from the mainland, a series of islands interconnected by strips of highway. It’s as diverse a location as you could ever have hoped for, and in the first trailer (which you can see below), it’s clear that opportunities to explore this map will be staggering.
Leonida has never been mentioned before in Grand Theft Auto history, so it’s totally fresh, even if Vice City is a well-known location. For the die-hard fans of the franchise, Vice City remains one of the best GTA games ever released, but GTA 6 will definitely steal away that crown from whatever title came before.
Vice City’s up-to-date remaster in GTA 6’s map looks like everything we could have hoped for. It’s a modern-day rendition of the age-old map that still manages to retain its 1980s synth-laden vibe, boasting nightclubs, classic supercars, and more drugs changing hands than you can shake a stick at.
There’s no doubt that the new GTA 6 map will soak up hundreds of hours of our time as we explore every corner of the thing.
Image Credit: Rockstar Games
Vice City has, of course, been featured before in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, but it will be fascinating to see how much of the original location will return in GTA VI. As this is set in the modern day and the first Rockstar game release that has been built for current-gen consoles, this will clearly be a much more immersive and detailed experience for players.
Rockstar describe the capital city as follows:
The glamour, hustle, and greed of America captured in a single city. Each neighborhood has something to offer, from the pastel art deco hotels and bright white sands of Ocean Beach, to the bustling panaderías of Little Cuba and the bootleg brands of the Tisha-Wocka flea market, out to the VC Port, the cruise ship capital of the world.
From this description, it is clear that Vice City will have many different quarters to explore on foot and by vehicle. The technological capabilities of the PS5 and XBox Series consoles will surely be shown in all their glory at the VC Port, with much more detail expected compared to the game’s GTA V predecessor.
Image Credit: Rockstar Games
Imagery released by Rockstar Games – including the above screenshot – shows that Leonida Keys will be a sprawling part of the map that is teeming with action and natural beauty. This includes confirmation that you will be able to get up close with an array of animals such as iguanas and turtles.
Life in this tropical archipelago isn’t flashy but it’s easy. Get your buzz on and pull up a deck chair but look out — you are right on the doorstep of some of the most beautiful and dangerous waters in all of America.
Given the presence of boats at Leonida Keys, it is likely that this will be a major hotspot once the online version of GTA 6 launches.
Image Credit: Rockstar Games
Based on the Everglades, Grassrivers looks set to offer players an escape from city life. The hunting mechanics from Red Dead Redemption 2 make a return here, so it will be interesting to see how this impacts the in-game economy in both single and online game modes.
You never know what lies beneath the surface of this primordial expanse. The gators may be the most famous attraction, but there are far deadlier predators and weirder discoveries among the mangroves.
The Vortex hovercraft from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas looks set to be available once more and will be a thrilling way to traverse the Grassrivers area of the map.
Image Credit: Rockstar Games
From Rockstar’s description of Port Gellhorn, it sounds like it will be a rural hive of criminal activity and a stark contrast from more affluent areas of Leonida. From released images, it seems to be inspired by Panama City, Florida.
Cheap motels, shut-down attractions, and empty strip malls won’t bring the tourists back, but there’s a new economy in this once-popular vacation spot. It’s fueled by malt liquor, painkillers, and truck stop energy drinks. Jump on a dirt bike and hold onto your wallet.
Image Credit: Rockstar Games
The above screenshot shows the Final Chapter MC in all its glory and it remains to be seen quite what role it will play in the storyline. Regardless, images show that it will be based nearby a swamp, so it could be a gateway back to civilization after exploring the natural world of Leonida.
In the heart of Leonida, American industry and old school values still reign supreme — whatever the cost. The Allied Crystal sugar refinery provides the jobs, while the local biker gang provides almost everything else.
Image Credit: Rockstar Games
It wouldn’t be a GTA release without a mountain, and in GTA 6 it comes in the form of Mount Kalaga. Beautiful in-game screenshots from Rockstar show that this will be a location that will be packed with activities including kayaking, hunting and dirt biking. It will be fascinating to see the improvements that the developer has made to the living ecosystem since Red Dead Redemption 2 — imagery shows a cougar stalking some deer.
A national landmark up against the state’s northern border, Mount Kalaga offers prime hunting, fishing, and off-road trails. In the lush surrounding backwoods, hillbilly mystics and paranoid radicals live far from the prying eyes of the government.
You’d have thought that this would be obvious by now, but it’s still a question that people ask. We’ve answered the key query of, “Where is GTA 6 set?”, but there’s still the question of whether it’ll be fully open world. After all, some of the older Grand Theft Auto games adopted a model that only unlocked one portion of the map at a time. Is that the case in GTA 6?
We won’t know for sure until release, but it looks as though this enormous map will be open for exploration from the moment you get your hands on it in May 2026. It’s likely going to take many hours of exploring to uncover everything that the map has to offer, so despite it being open from the get-go, it’s well worth bearing in that there will be lots of hidden details and strange encounters — but that’s all part of the fun!
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