When GTA 5 released in 2013, it had a map that set the standard for what an open world was going to be for its generation. Now, thirteen years later, GTA 6 is the first Rockstar map made specifically to outdo it. This article is a comparison between the two maps, not a hype article for the launch. Instead, it's a breakdown of where they differ and how that actually translates into play.

For the full GTA 6 picture on its own, visit our GTA 6 map guide and GTA 6 map size analysis. This page serves as the comparison article.

Raw size: how much bigger is Leonida?

The playable area of GTA 5 is approximately 49 square miles (Los Santos and Blaine County, plus a significant underwater section). Leonida hasn't been officially measured, but judging by trailer footage and the geography Rockstar is modelling, estimates range from 1.5x-2x that size. Our GTA 6 map size deep-dive covers the latest evidence.

Raw acreage isn't the right headline number, though. What matters is what's going on inside that map, which is where GTA 6 leapfrogs ahead.

Density: where the gap is biggest

GTA 5 had approximately 140 interiors that you could enter. Based on footage from trailers and comments from the developers, GTA 6 looks set to land in the high hundreds, possibly reaching a four-figure number if you include smaller structures. That's not 1.5x more. That's a generational jump in density.

Vice City itself is denser than Los Santos by a wide margin. Our GTA 6 Vice City map guide goes over what the trailer footage reveals: additional side streets, more interiors on a block-by-block basis, greater vertical diversity.

Terrain variety: a real new biome

GTA 5's three primary terrain types were urban Los Santos, rural Blaine County, and the desert/mountain north. Leonida features those three plus a truly new one - the Everglades-style wetlands in central Leonida - and the Florida Keys-inspired island chain to the south.

The wetlands are the headline. Rockstar has never constructed an actual swamp environment before, and the gameplay systems it introduces (airboat movement, alligator encounters, thick-vegetation stealth) have no precedent in any previous GTA.

Underwater and aerial space

GTA 5 featured a reasonably sized underwater area and did include some submerged ship elements. GTA 6's underwater area will be bigger due to both the longer coastline and the presence of the Keys archipelago. Aerial space is more useful too - as distances between areas are greater, aircraft can serve a purpose they didn't have in GTA 5, where most points of interest were within easy driving distance of each other.

Prepare for a shift in vehicle balance: helicopters and general aviation aircraft should play a bigger role in GTA 6 than in GTA 5.

What stays the same

Please don't interpret this as "GTA 5's map was small." Both games feature the same Rockstar DNA of map design: hand-built density, tongue-in-cheek world-building, urban/rural balance, and attention to tiny details you notice when you wander off the beaten path. GTA 6 expands upon how GTA 5 approached things rather than turning its back on it. The character switching mechanic returns (Lucia and Jason instead of Michael, Franklin, Trevor) and nearly all of the open-world systems we've come to expect are there.

If you played GTA 5, prepare yourself for déjà vu, except everything is bigger, denser, and has more terrain variety. For frame-by-frame proof from the trailers, see our trailer location breakdown.

Implications for modding

The GTA 5 modding scene has had over a decade to progress and build momentum. The GTA 6 modding scene gets a fresh start once PC ships - but it'll be starting much higher on the technical skill ladder (skills directly transfer from GTA 5 modders). Custom map content - which we will track at GTA 6 map downloads once available - will probably catch up quicker than the GTA 5 modding scene did.