Vice City gets the marketing. The rural towns to the north are historically home to some of GTA's weirdest, smallest, most memorable moments. Trailer 2 shows enough of this territory to warrant careful analysis.
The wider regional layout is covered in the Leonida hub and the regions explainer.
What rural Leonida looks like in the trailers
Strip malls. Trailer parks. Gas stations on county roads. Diners. Low buildings and fluttering American flags on the main street of some small Florida town. Orange groves stretching fence-to-horizon. A roadside attraction or two. These are the images that code 'small-town' Florida. If you've driven inland from Tampa or Orlando, you'll recognise it.
The rural frames also show transitions. The trailer moves from suburban strip mall to rural county road to small-town main street smoothly enough that the areas blend together instead of appearing discrete.
Where the rural towns sit
North of Vice City. North of the wetlands. Some visibly close to the orange groves and the inland lakes. The exact number of towns and their names have not been confirmed - community research has come up with possible names, but not all of them can be substantiated by official sources.
What this region is likely to do for the game
Side content density. Rockstar's small towns have always been more than they seem - GTA V's Sandy Shores, Paleto Bay and Grapeseed each shipped unique content despite their size. Leonida's rural towns will likely serve the same purpose.
Rockstar games often use small-town settings for quieter moments driven by character interaction. Lucia and Jason will likely pass through here at least once - that's speculation, but it fits how Rockstar has used rural settings in the past.