GTA 6 Map Leaks, Vice City Locations Compared to GTA 5
GTA VI is supposed to come out later this year unless it's delayed (which we all hope it won't). While there hasn't been any official word on a set release date, Rockstar Games has given a window for a release sometime in the fall, which could mean anywhere from September to November. Either way, there's not that much more time to wait.
GTA 6 is one of the most anticipated games ever. Rockstar Games has always been connected to its titles, and while we don't know much about the game just yet, the fact that there's another brand new, high-quality open-world game from one of the greatest gaming studios ever should have any gamer drooling.
No worries if you think you won’t have much time to play GTA 6 when it launches. You can always buy a GTA 6 modded account or, even better, get GTA 6 boosting services for your own account.
However, there's a lot still in the balance. Rockstar is known for its confidentiality, and besides the first official trailer which the company shared on its YouTube channel, no information has been revealed aside from what's been assembled by the community. So far, we know it's set in Vice City and has two protagonists, Jason and Lucia.
Of course, fans have also discovered some great information. After all, when Rockstar plays it quietly, the community has to figure out the pieces themselves!
GTA 6 Setting - Vice City Location and Setting
GTA 6 returns to Vice City in all its vibrancy and neon action. While Vice City is based in Miami, the GTA 6 map extends to the surrounding country area, including the famous swamplike Everglades that exist in real-life Florida. Thus far, Rockstar Games has only released a 90-second teaser trailer for the upcoming Grand Theft Auto game and, unsurprisingly, fans have broken down every millisecond of the teaser to note everything they know about the GTA 6 map and its real-life connections.
So, first things first. In GTA 6, there are three counties which consist of:
- Vice Dale County: Hinted at by the sheriff's badge that's shown during Mega Noticias' newscast on a character that looks like it could be the Florida Joker.
- Leonard County: Written on a police car in the fictional social media post for "PlanetLeonidaMan".
- Kelly County: Noted through various street signs seen in the trailer.
As Vice City is based in Miami, you would assume Vice Dale County is meant to represent Miami-Dade County, the main city itself, and the connected Everglades area. Yet, according to Rockstar's usual naming conventions, Vice Dale County will only apply to Vice City and maybe some bordering areas. This was the case with GTA 5, where Los Santos County was only Los Angeles and the surrounding areas; upstate, the desert had its own county designation—Blaine. Generally, Rockstar uses counties to signify areas geographically apart.
The other two counties—Leonard and Kelly—are a little more challenging to discern. Where are these counties supposed to be? Based on real maps of Florida, Monroe County is south of Miami-Dade County, and Collier County is west. To the north is Broward County, but since it is very similar to Miami itself, Rockstar might skip it and instead include fictional versions of Monroe and Collier Counties.
These two counties could substitute for the two different locations mentioned in the trailer. One is bound to be the swampy locale that appears to be the Everglades in real-life Florida, and the other is the prison and little dusty towns seen in the trailer. But which is which?
The details from the PlanetLeonidaMan video expose a Leonard County gas station like any typical small-town gas station. However, the blue and yellow coloring of the gas station is affiliated with real-world Sunoco, a country-wide gas station in the US. Southwest Leonida is in the swampland of the Everglades region, where Sunoco does not operate. Thus, we know that Leonard County is in the northwest, and the police car resembles the one from Collier County.
This suggests that Kelly County could be the Monroe County equivalent in GTA 6. The trailer supports this theory with various road signs. Kelly County is mentioned twice: once when the girl drives through Vice City waving her arms and another in the GeneralCustardCannon social media clip. It all adds up. Road signs in the southeastern part of Vice City would first point to the southwestern region before directing further northwest, indicating that Kelly County might be that Everglades-inspired area.
So, the new Grand Theft Auto VI map entails Vice Dale County (and within it, Vice City) in the southeast, the Everglades with Kelly County in the southwest, and some towns and a prison in the top left of the map, which is Leonard County. All of these are comprised of Leonida, Rockstar's take on Florida.
Though nothing is confirmed yet, thanks to the seemingly hidden map in the GTA 6 key art, fans think they know the land's general layout. In the bottom right corner of the key art is a pinboard, and one pinned item is a potential map of southeast Florida. At the same time, it looks more like a draft than anything; an area of the mainland can be seen, which is Miami Beach. However, this is all unknown, and nothing is set in stone.
Now that we have a general idea of the GTA VI map, we can proceed with more specifics about the locations teased in the trailer.
All CONFIRMED GTA 6 Location Names
Vice Dale County
NINE1NINE / E11EVEN
Early in the trailer, a shot sweeps across Vice Beach, and overhead is a plane with a banner that says NINE1NINE. While it's unclear how NINE1NINE fits into the GTA 6 reveal, many believe NINE1NINE to be a nod to E11EVEN—the world's only 24/7 "ultraclub". Nightclubs have been popular businesses and safehouse locations in many GTAs and GTA Online DLCs. However, NINE1NINE isn't shown in the teaser, but it will certainly act as a place where players can sit, relax, and have a good time.
Basketball Arena / Kaseya Center
Kaseya Center appears in the background, where the woman is waving her arms while speeding through Vice City. It's unclear whether or not GTA fans will be able to access the arena. However, we do know that sports are core to GTA games. For example, in San Andreas, we could play basketball. Various bars around San Andreas also featured billboard games. Likewise, in GTA 5, you can play a game of golf, darts, and tennis.
Twin-Tower Condo Block / 500 Brickell
The 500 Brickell granite and glass twin condo block building enters GTA 6. Known as a staple of Miami, the Twin Towers are part of the tallest buildings in Miami recreated brick for brick in the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI. They can be identified by the connecting roof with a giant hole cut out of it. This condo block appears during the opening montage of the GTA 6 trailer, which hints that players can buy an apartment here once they earn enough money for the game.
Port Vice City / PortMiami
Port Vice City is likely to be a GTA 6 fan-favorite location. Why? Boats! Speedboating from cops has been a tradition in every Grand Theft Auto game, not to mention stealing a few shipping containers for good measure. The trailer hints at both, with the PVC logo branding the harbor as Port Vice City.
Vice City International Airport / Miami International Airport
What could be better than a boat heist? A HEIST ON A PLANE! While there's a good chance that Rockstar will add an airport or two on the map for casual private smaller planes, the Vice City International Airport is the biggest one that makes sense. It'd be fun to see at least one or two jobs where players take over a plane mid-air or Grand Theft Auto-y on the tarmac.
Colourful Street / Wynwood
The most artsy, most vibrant street in Miami would fit perfectly into the world of GTA 6. Painted murals line the streets of Wynwood—although only seen for a moment in the trailer—and lowriders drive by. This is undoubtedly a place in the game where GTA fans will be able to customize their cars or spend a good night out.
Nightclub / Club Space
Speaking of nightlife, a variant of Club Space emerges with NINE1NINE as Vice City's premier nightclub. Miami-based locals instantly identified the nightclub scene from the Club Space in the GTA 6 trailer. Aside from this being the only intel regarding nightlife in the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI, it's unclear if Club Space is pivotal to the main storyline or merely a location to have fun. I hope it's for both, though.
City Island / Biscayne Island
You'd have thought it was Miami at night in the trailer. That's how closely Rockstar Games has made some of these places compared to their real-life counterparts. Vice City connects to Vice Beach by the land bridge that is Biscayne Island. In the game, it's called Vice City. Rockstar has recreated it nearly identical, almost perfectly, down to its staircase-style skyscrapers and the toll booths at its entrance.
Vice Beach / Miami Beach
While this isn't one definitive location in GTA 6, the entirety of Miami Beach is recreated as the aptly titled Vice Beach. The Miami Beach region is essentially three large areas: the most well-known South Beach, the second most Mid Beach, and up is North Beach. The original Vice City map from 2002 was Ocean Beach first, then Washington Beach in the middle, and Vice Point at last. Only time will tell if the names get transferred; though secretly I hope they do.
Art Deco Street / Ocean Drive
This goes back to the original Vice City boardwalk and the Ocean View Hotel, similar to a South Beach vibe, art deco structure, and neon lights mixed with absurdly blaring sports cars. Ocean Drive is Miami's most well-known street, filled with hotels, clubs, and an art deco facade. It is Miami's core attraction and would be prominently featured in the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI.
Boardwalk Hotel / Colony Hotel
The Colony Hotel is firmly planted on Ocean Drive as a local landmark, and it has been replicated in Grand Theft Auto VI as the Boardwalk Hotel. This could be where Lucia and Jason lay their heads at night before a scheduled heist, or it could be a player business opportunity in a GTA 6 online gameplay mode.
Bayfront Heights / Seafront Apartments
Yet another condo complex we see in the GTA 6 trailer is Bayfront Heights, although it's hard to gather much from the super quick glance. Like 500 Brickell and Atlantis Condominium, this could be another apartment that players can own in either the GTA story mode or GTA online mode once they earn enough money.
Strip Club / King of Diamonds
As much as the car crashing, what's a Grand Theft Auto without a strip club? It looks like the GTA 6 map will feature King of Diamonds, a popular (or rather infamous) strip club in Miami known for being quite chaotic.
Kelly County
Wetlands / Everglades
Wetlands in Leonida are basically a GTA VI version of Everglades in real-life Florida. This swampy region is located in the far southwest of Leonida. To back it up, we can see an airboat sailing across the wetlands in the game's teaser trailer.
String of Islands / Florida Keys
Beyond mainland Florida, there is the Florida Keys, which come under Monroe County. Therefore, in GTA 6, we can assume it will be part of Kelly County. The Florida Keys islands show just how expansive Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto map for GTA VI will be. Although the mapped-out version will probably not go 120 miles south of mainland Leonida, it is evident in the trailer video that a decent amount of area was dedicated to these islands.
Leonard County
Broadcast Mast / WTVY Tower
A sunset casting pink and purple hues over the swampy Leonida location features a towering broadcast mast in the background. The WTVY Tower, on which it is based, is situated way north in Florida’s Holmes County, but Rockstar Games will surely scrunch the geography enough to put the mast in its fictional Leonard County.
Leonida Department of Corrections / Florida Department of Corrections
We are introduced to Lucia in a very much standard GTA character introduction as we first see her in prison. She's in an orange jumpsuit with the letters LDC across her chest. In GTA 6, LDC stands for Leonida Department of Corrections. It is a fictionalized version of the Florida Department of Corrections in real-life Florida. The location in which she serves her time is beyond Vice City, as the dusty, desert-like prison location is not the swamps of Kelly County; it more resembles Leonard County.
Port Gellhorn / Small Town Florida
In the official GTA 6 trailer video we see Jason and Lucia spending a night together before the trailer cuts to the scene where they speed off in an American muscle car, kicking up dust as they go. As the car drives by, we can see a Pawn & Gun shop in the background which indicates that both of them are in a town called Port Gellhorn.
In addition to the above-mentioned areas, we know that several small towns, such as Catalan Boulevard, Stockyard Downtown, Hamlet, and Waning Sands, will also be part of Leonard County.
Will Rockstar Add New Cities in GTA VI Map Over Time?
At one time, the map concept for GTA VI was that it would be bigger than any other map and it would take locations from all over North and South America, which is why it was codenamed Project Americas. However, the map has been cut down significantly after the restructured work-from-home situation at Rockstar.
Since Rockstar is placing the game in Vice City (a fictional version of Miami and its outskirts) with way more enterable interiors than before, it's been noted that Rockstar Games intends to grow the GTA 6 map post-launch, adding new missions and cities regularly.
If a remastered Vice City isn't enough to have fans going crazy, it seems like Rockstar wants them to go crazy. A lot. Along with the Vice City leaks, there's been speculation of a secondary city for GTA 6 that's located in South America—something similar to Rio de Janeiro. Also, there was an interview where a Rockstar Games dev said they would love to do a GTA one day that features all the maps in one game (Vice City, San Andreas, Liberty City, Los Santos, etc.). So this could be something filed away for the future. If true, this will create an ultimate form of GTA that will keep us entertained for years to come!
All Grand Theft Auto VI Maps Leaked So Far
Below are some likely GTA 6 maps based on 2022 leaks and the first official trailer, thanks to the GTA 6 mapping community. The maps below represent a rendering based on the leaked trailer video, and teasers received thus far, as compiled by the GTA VI community.
In bits and pieces, from road signs and landmarks to in-game coordinates and areas that were allowed to play out and be seen in the teaser footage, GTA VI fans have done their best to compile and wonder what the ultimate map might be.
The maps below are very detailed renderings of what the eventual GTA 6 map will be based on, which includes Vice City on the east side of the map, the Grassrivers, towns, and other map locations.
Our first GTA 6 leak map is by the GTA Mapping community on Discord. They’ve mapped all the location names that have been discovered thus far. A hardcore GTA fan, DuPz0r, originally made the map.
The second leaked GTA 6 map is by MapMaking Discord. Its original creator is yet another hardcore GTA fan, Avatarso.
Next, we have a GTA 6 map rendition by a Reddit user u/MyNeuronsAreFried, a big Grand Theft Auto franchise fan.
Likewise, another leaked GTA 6 map by another hardcore GTA fan is made by a Reddit user u/StikyLizardStudiosYT. This map is a rework done on the original mapping work by the gta6six Reddit community.
How Does The GTA 6 Map Compare to The GTA 5 Map
GTA 6 cost Rockstar approximately $2B to make, and we can now see where all that money has gone. Thanks to the Reddit user u/StikyLizardStudiosYT, we know that the GTA 6 leaked map is about 70% bigger than the GTA 5 map of Los Santos. Yes, we don’t have the official GTA 6 map yet, but this gives us a good idea of what to expect.
The Los Santos map is more than half smaller than the GTA 6 map. Also, remember that more than half of the Los Santos map covered mountains. If I had to guess, 60-70% of it was covered in mountains, and the rest was comprised of Los Santos and Los Blaine.
But hey! What makes this even more exciting is that, back in the day, the world of GTA 5 felt huge, even with mountains! Since there will be few mountains in the GTA 6 map, coupled with many more interiors to explore, surrounding areas to visit, and spaces to discover, only time will tell what exciting gameplay possibilities and features will be provided to fans in the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI! Since Rockstar invested so much money in developing it, we all can hope for the best!
