Gaming
Games
Ranking every GTA 6 location by how excited fans are to play it
The largest Grand Theft Auto map of all time promises six distinct locales. We rank them all by what we know so far, and how excited we are to uncover their secrets.
It’s official. As revealed by Rockstar, the new GTA 6 map will be twice the size of GTA 5’s map, and three times as large as the developer’s last open-world game, Red Dead Redemption 2.
All of which means there’s a heck of a lot to explore come November 19, when the game is finally released.
Taking place in the fictional state of Leonida, GTA 6 will see players control protagonists Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos through varied locations from swamps to port towns, mountains and, of course, the best beaches Vice City has to offer.
With the recent Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look teaser giving fans an even more detailed look into the game, we ranked every GTA 6 location by fan anticipation [Editor's note: numbering is sequential, the locations are ranked from least to most anticipated.]
01
Mount Kalaga National Park
Room to breathe on the state’s northern fringes
© Rockstar Games/Take-Two
If there’s one criticism of GTA 5, it’s that the countryside locations – those beautifully rendered spaces between urban areas – could feel sort of empty. Too often, you’d crash in the middle of nowhere and wander through mostly empty space until rejoining civilisation.
Rockstar took a completely different approach for theirnext game, the cowboy explorer Red Dead Redemption 2 where the open spaces were some of the best on the map. Here, you could hunt, bird watch, pick rare flowers and herbs, come across all manner of interesting strangers and easter eggs, or simply set up camp and sit back under the stars.
Mount Kalaga National Park looks set to take a similar approach to green spaces. Just look at the image above, a hidden glen lurking with menace. With the ability to hunt and kayak here confirmed, and BASE jumping a strong possibility, this could actually prove one of the most intriguing and re-playable areas in the game.
Beyond that, the Netflix preview didn’t offer too much info on this location, with a shot of Lucia riding a dirt bike possibly the only hint of what you might get up to here. At a stretch, the ‘Prairie Sandwich’ commercial fans saw on the in-game TV might suggest hunting is a big part of the game for those who decide to go down that route.
“Mount Kalaga looks interesting. I bet it's full of secrets and creepy stuff at night,” agrees one hopeful Reddit user. The thing is, fans still don’t have a lot of information about this location yet, so chalk this up to wishful thinking. For that reason, it has to be last on the list.
02
Grassrivers
Run from the cops, and the local wildlife
© Rockstar Games/Take-Two
A clear stand-in for Florida’s Everglades National Park, GTA 6’s Grassrivers looks pretty, if a bit sparse in diversity. The real Everglades are essentially a swamp extending for hundreds of square miles. If Grassrivers is accurate to this, there might not be much to do other than tool around in your airboat, avoiding gators and giant snakes.
That said, the official wetlands synopsis does suggest at least a few surprises: “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.”
Some fans are amped. “Grassrivers because that's my favourite IRL part of Florida,” said one Facebook fan when asked which part of the map they were most looking forward to exploring.
The Netflix preview didn’t do much to ramp up excitement for the place. Fans saw an airboat tearing along pristine water next to an observation tower for bird watching (or shooting gators) and that’s about it. Presumably this location is keeping its surprises up its sleeves for now.
03
Leonida Keys
An in-game vacation might be just what you need
© Rockstar Games/Take-Two
Heavily inspired by the Caribbean-tinged Florida Keys, Leonida Keys looks set to offer a tropical escape from the grimy, crime-ridden streets of Vice City. Official shots show plentiful marine life, small, island-hopping planes, turquoise waters, and lots and lots of tourist shops. Not to mention the odd boat party.
In short, Leonida, where “the dress code is casual, the bars are loaded” looks set to be the perfect in-game vacation. And no one ever gets tired of vacation, right?
“Looks like there’s going to be a lot of hidden things and events that happen there,” said on Reddit user, citing this location as the one they’re most excited to play.
The Netflix preview ramped up fans’ anticipation, with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot of Jason scuba diving in pristine waters, alongside another clip of our main man diving off a jetty while jet skis and dolphins pass by in the background.
All of which sounds nice, if a bit more ‘vacation mode’ than out-and-out crime adventure mode. Let’s hope the online comments are true, and there’s more to do here than just sipping cocktails and working on your tan.
04
Ambrosia
Welcome the sons and daughters of anarchy
© Rockstar Games/Take-Two
What’s not to love about a company town protected by biker gangs? In Ambrosia, that’s exactly what you’ll get.
“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,” runs Rockstar’s official primer on the place.
The Netflix preview seemed to centre a lot of the action here. Fans saw Jason wrestling in a backyard ring, and Lucia shooting her way through a dilapidated house.
But still, it’s difficult to really know what to make of Ambrosia. On paper, it doesn’t sound like there’s a heck of a lot going on there. Outside of some run-ins with the biker gang, and possibly a level where you throw someone into the sugar refinery, this might be a brief stop-off on the road to somewhere a bit more visually appealing.
Perhaps for that reason, opinions online are mixed, with some fans claiming to prefer the rural areas. Others are optimistic. “This GTA 6 location has MASSIVE potential!” is the title of one fan-made YouTube vid on the city. All in all, it’s too early to tell, with the possibility for biker gang chaos just edging this above the middle of the pack.
05
Port Gellhorn
Port Gellhorn offers a down-and-dirty GTA experience
© Rockstar Games/Take-Two
Located on the Western edge of the map in Kelly County, Port Gellhorn is a “failed resort” in a “forgotten coast.” Which sounds like a recipe for colourful characters driven to extremes to make ends meet. In other words, exactly the stuff GTA is made of.
“Port Gellhorn looks gritty and dark,” agrees one Facebook user, citing it as their most anticipated location behind Vice City.
According to Rockstar, “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 fuelled by malt liquor, painkillers and truck-stop energy drinks. Jump on a dirt bike and hold onto your wallet.”
Only one part of the Netflix preview seemed to be set in Port Gellhorn, with testy locals throwing a computer monitor off a bridge onto a freeway. Another, later shot showed what could be drug boats tearing along a waterway late at night. There may also be a race track here, which sounds great.
All of which sounds like a down-and-dirty-map area, full of the criminal element. In other words, Port Gellhorn sounds like an instant classic location.
06
Vice City
Vice City has had some upgrades since the 2002 game of the same name
© Rockstar Games/Take-Two
The big one. For better or worse, Vice City (GTA’s stand-in for Miami) is your base of operations. “When the sun fades and the neon glows, everyone has something to gain - and more to lose,” reads Rockstar’s official log-line.
Players of 2002’s GTA Vice City will fondly remember the city as a place full of discos, drive-by shootings, flares, pastel hues and aviator sunglasses. And while players no doubt have a soft-spot in their hearts for this 1980s-set, Scarface-inspired mayhem, GTA 6 will update the action to 2026. This means more Soundcloud rappers than funk, and more trap house than beachside mansions.
As revealed in the Netflix preview, Vice City is where the bulk of the action will happen (or at least, begin). Players got a glimpse into Jason and Lucia’s garishly-decorated home before two cut scenes saw them relax at a rooftop bar before taking to the streets for a post-bank robbery car chase that looked more like a war zone than an American city.
The bright and sunny city had a tremendous level of other details in the preview, too, from influencers falling from bridges to Lucia BASE jumping, a multi-storey drug den escape, and some fantastic nighttime shots of skyscrapers, neon lights and pumping EDM clubs.
“Rockstar is ready to take us back to Vice City with a world bigger, crazier, and more alive than ever,” reads one Instagram post created after the Netflix preview.
It goes without saying that this is the most highly-anticipated map in the game. Vice City looks set to be the series’ largest city to date, offering a whole host of NPC interactions, adversaries, cars, weapons, and easter eggs to uncover. The official material promises “The glamour, hustle, and greed of America captured in a single city” with airports, beaches, varied neighbourhoods, garages, stadiums and more. Expect this to be where the story begins, and where you’ll base your operations for much of the game. In other words, this is home.
“Take me back to VC, baby. It's been too long,” reads one enthusiastic Reddit post. November 19 can’t come soon enough.
About the author
