GTA VI Map and Locations: Rockstar Changed the Rules This Time

Vice City never really left GTA fans’ heads- the sun on Ocean Beach, the neon, the radio stations at 2am in a stolen car. Twenty years later, Rockstar isn’t just bringing that back. For GTA VI, they’ve built an entire fictional state around it called Leonida, and based on the trailers and confirmed leaked footage, it looks like the biggest open world they’ve attempted.

This GTA VI map and locations guide covers all six regions- what’s confirmed, what community analysis backs up, and what’s still a guess. Nothing here is dressed up as insider knowledge it isn’t.

What Is Leonida?

Before we get into the individual regions, it helps to understand what Leonida actually is- because a lot of people still think GTA VI is just “Vice City again.” It is not.

Rockstar has officially confirmed on their own website that GTA VI is set in “the state of Leonida, home to the neon-soaked streets of Vice City and beyond.”

That phrase “and beyond” is doing a lot of work. Leonida is Rockstar’s fictional version of the entire state of Florida- not just Miami, but all of it. The cities, the swamps, the farmland, the island chains, the wilderness up north.

Think about the difference between GTA V and GTA: San Andreas. GTA V was essentially one city (Los Santos) with empty space around it. San Andreas had three distinct cities and the land connecting them.

Leonida looks like Rockstar’s attempt to build something closer to San Andreas in terms of regional variety- but with the graphical fidelity and NPC density that 2025 hardware makes possible.

That is a genuinely exciting design goal. And based on community analysis of the trailers and leaked footage, it looks like Leonida is structured around six major regions:

1. Vice City
2. Port Gellhorn
3. Ambrosia
4. Mount Kalaga
5. Leonida Keys
6. Grassrivers

Here is what we know about each one.

Region 1: Vice City- The Heart of Everything

What Rockstar has confirmed: Vice City is in the game. It is the centrepiece of the map.

This is the one we have been waiting for. Rockstar officially confirmed Vice City’s return, and the trailers make it clear this is not a nostalgia cash-grab. This Vice City is unrecognisable from the 2002 original in terms of scale- in the best possible way.

The original game’s Vice City was actually quite compact. Two islands, a handful of districts, and a lot of empty water. What the GTA VI trailers show is something far more vertical, far more dense, and far more alive. High-rise towers that block out the sun. A beachfront that actually looks crowded. Nightlife strips that feel genuinely chaotic.

If you spent half your time in GTA V feeling like Los Santos was a bit flat, Vice City in GTA VI looks like the direct answer to that criticism.

The trailers show our two main protagonists, Lucia and Jason, moving through Vice City in multiple scenes, which tells us this is where the bulk of the story is set. To learn more about their backgrounds and role in the narrative, check out our GTA VI Characters and Storyline guide. You will be spending a lot of time here.

What trailers and community analysis of leaked footage show us:

• Ocean Beach and a South Beach-style coastal strip (this was spotted in the very first shot of Trailer 1)
• Vice City International Airport (VCIA)- referenced directly in leaked footage
• A luxury island district that leaked footage refers to as “Quester Key”
• High-rise financial and hotel districts inland from the beach
• A location the community has identified as “Ocean View Hotel”- the same name as Tommy Vercetti’s base in the 2002 game, which is either a genuine Easter egg or wishful thinking from fans
• District names from leaked footage including South Beach, Vice Beach Plaza, North Beaches, Overtown, Washington Beach, and La Perle

That last list is worth sitting with for a moment. The original Vice City had maybe six named districts. The leaked footage for GTA VI shows references to well over a dozen named areas within Vice City alone. The density here is real.

Region 2: Port Gellhorn- The City Nobody Talks About

What Rockstar has confirmed: Nothing specific about Port Gellhorn directly. Source: Community analysis of trailers and leaked footage.

Here is the thing about Florida that the tourist brochures leave out: for every Miami, there are a dozen cities that look nothing like it. Run-down ports. Industrial sprawl. Places that feel like they were booming forty years ago and have been slowly deflating ever since.

Port Gellhorn looks like Rockstar’s version of that Florida. Community analysts studying the trailers and leaked footage describe it as a declining coastal city- one that has industrial infrastructure, shipping ports, run-down motels, and a general atmosphere of a place that missed the economic recovery that Miami enjoyed.

Think somewhere like Pensacola or Port St. Lucie rather than South Beach.

The most interesting thing community researchers have identified here is a large raceway and airport complex. Leaked footage references “PGH Racetrack” specifically. Given how central racing has always been to GTA Online, a dedicated large-scale racing venue in its own city region feels significant- this is probably not just background scenery.

What community analysis suggests:

• A declining coastal city with industrial character
• Large shipping infrastructure and port areas
• A regional raceway complex (referenced directly in leaked footage as “PGH Racetrack“)
• A regional airport separate from Vice City’s VCIA
• Run-down motels, roadside businesses, and older commercial strips
• Bridges connecting it to other parts of the map

Port Gellhorn is going to be the kind of place where missions feel grittier and the stakes feel lower but more personal. If Vice City is where you go to be flashy, Port Gellhorn is where you go when things go wrong.

Region 3: Ambrosia- The Part of Florida Nobody Makes Games About

What Rockstar has confirmed: Nothing specific about Ambrosia directly. Source: Community analysis of trailers and leaked footage.

Almost every Florida-based game, film, or TV show focuses on Miami and pretends the rest of the state does not exist. Rockstar appears to be doing something different with Ambrosia, and I find this genuinely interesting as a GTA fan.

Ambrosia looks like it represents central Florida’s reality: agricultural land, industrial processing, flat terrain dominated by water, and the economic infrastructure that actually keeps Florida running even though nobody ever puts it in a travel advert.

The centrepiece of this region, based on community analysis, is a large inland lake modelled on Lake Okeechobee- Florida’s biggest lake, sitting in the middle of the state and surrounded by farmland.

The leaked footage references “Ambrosia Dairy” and “Ambrosia Tarmac,” confirming that this region has both farming operations and aviation infrastructure.

Community researchers have also flagged what appears to be a large industrial processing facility in Ambrosia- likely a parody of Florida’s sugar industry. If Rockstar is going full “Florida Man” with the satire in this game, a corrupt agricultural megacorporation feels very on-brand.

What community analysis suggests:

• Agricultural land and farming operations
• Industrial processing plants (potentially sugar/energy industry parody)
• A large inland lake region (modelled on Lake Okeechobee)
• Railway and transport infrastructure
• A zone that transitions between the urban south and the wilderness north

Ambrosia is probably not the region that is going to feature in the flashiest trailers. But based on what we can piece together, it could end up being one of the more mission-dense areas- the kind of region that players will be driving through constantly without necessarily thinking of it as a destination in its own right.

Region 4: Mount Kalaga- Wait, Mountains? In Florida?

What Rockstar has confirmed: Nothing specific about Mount Kalaga directly. Source: Community analysis of trailers and community research.

This one takes a moment to get your head around.

Florida is one of the flattest states in America. The highest natural point in the entire state is Britton Hill, which stands at 345 feet above sea level. For context, that is shorter than the Eiffel Tower. Florida does not have mountains.

So when community analysts identified what appears to be a mountainous region in the northern part of Leonida’s map, it raised some eyebrows. But once you think about it, it makes complete sense as a design decision.

Rockstar is not trying to make a geographically accurate Florida. They are making a game world. And a game world needs elevation, dramatic terrain, and natural boundaries.

Mount Kalaga appears to serve a specific purpose in the map’s overall design: it sits at the northern edge of Leonida and acts as a natural boundary to the playable world- a mountain range that makes the map feel contained without needing an invisible wall.

It also gives the game something GTA V honestly lacked: genuinely dramatic wilderness terrain. Mount Chiliad in GTA V was interesting but felt a bit isolated.

Mount Kalaga appears to be part of a larger forested, elevated region that could make exploring the northern part of Leonida feel genuinely different from anything the series has done before.

What community analysis suggests:

• Mountainous terrain and cliffs (a deliberate departure from real Florida geography)
• Dense forests and wilderness
• Very limited urban development- this is not a city, it is a landscape
• Functions as a natural northern boundary of the map
• Likely designed for off-road exploration, collectibles, secret-finding, and side activities

If you are the type of GTA player who spent hours driving off-road in the Chiliad Mountain State Wilderness, Mount Kalaga is probably going to be your favourite part of Leonida.

Must Read: GTA VI Online: Everything You Need to Know

Region 5: Leonida Keys- Where GTA Goes to Do Its Best Work

What Rockstar has confirmed: Nothing specific about the Leonida Keys directly. Source: Community analysis of trailers and leaked footage.

The Florida Keys are one of those places that feel almost designed for a GTA game. A 120-mile chain of small islands connected by a single road, surrounded by open water, with a history that includes more documented drug smuggling operations than almost anywhere else in the United States.

Key West, at the very end of the chain, has a culture entirely its own- eccentric, isolated, and a long way from the rules that apply on the mainland.

Rockstar’s Leonida Keys appear to capture exactly that energy.

Community analysis of the trailers and leaked footage places the Leonida Keys in the southern part of Leonida’s map. The leaked footage references “Keys Garage,” confirming there is developed infrastructure here.

The bridge-connected island geography creates natural gameplay opportunities that a contiguous landmass simply cannot offer: boats become genuinely necessary, certain areas can be cut off, and the isolation of individual islands makes them perfect for hideouts, stash locations, and high-stakes missions.

The community speculation that I find most credible (and want to be clear this is speculation) is the suggestion of a military base somewhere in the Keys region, similar to Fort Zancudo in GTA V. A restricted military zone in a remote island chain would be classic GTA map design. Whether it exists in the final game, we will have to wait and see.

What community analysis suggests:

• An island chain in the southern part of Leonida’s map, connected by bridges
• Boat travel as a genuine necessity rather than an optional activity
• Smuggling, drug-running, and water-based crime as likely mission themes
• A possible military installation with restricted airspace (community speculation- not confirmed)
• Seaplanes and water aircraft
• Remote islands suitable for player bases and online operations

The Leonida Keys look like endgame territory- the kind of place where the game opens up for players who have progressed through the story and are ready for the highest-stakes content.

Must Read: GTA 6 File Size: How Much Storage Do You Need? 

Region 6: Grassrivers- The Everglades Come to GTA

What Rockstar has confirmed: Nothing specific about Grassrivers directly. Source: Community analysis of trailers and leaked footage.

The Everglades are extraordinary. More than 1.5 million acres of subtropical wetland in southern Florida, home to alligators, pythons, manatees, and panthers, threaded through with waterways that all look identical until you are completely lost. It is beautiful, dangerous, and unlike anywhere else in the world.

Grassrivers is Rockstar’s version of that, and based on what community analysts have pieced together, it looks like they are taking it seriously.

This is where GTA VI could genuinely surprise people. The wilderness areas in previous GTA games were usually just empty space between missions- pretty to look at, but not much reason to spend time there.

Grassrivers appears to be designed differently. The leaked footage references both “Grassrivers” as a district name and “Grasslands” as a related area, suggesting this is a substantial region with its own internal geography.

Community analysis suggests the gameplay in Grassrivers will lean hard into the environment itself. Hunting. Wildlife encounters (yes, alligators- this is a Florida swamp game and they would be insane not to include alligators).

Navigating waterways where roads do not reach. Rural communities hidden among the cypress trees and marsh grass.

If Grassrivers delivers on what the analysis suggests, it could be the most atmospheric region in any GTA game to date.

What community analysis suggests:

• Dense swamp, marshland, and wetland terrain across a substantial area
• Wildlife encounters including predatory animals (speculation, but very strongly implied)
• Limited road access in many areas- water travel essential
• Rural settlements, isolated shacks, and small communities
• Environmental hazards specific to wetland terrain
• Hunting and exploration mechanics that differ significantly from the urban regions

How Big Is the Actual GTA VI Map?

Confirmed by Rockstar: Nothing specific on dimensions.

Okay, I know this is the question everyone wants answered, and I am going to be straight with you: we genuinely do not know yet.

The early rumours- some of which got a lot of traction; claimed the GTA VI map would be two or three times the size of GTA V. Current community analysis has moved away from those numbers. The more measured view, based on what the trailers actually show, is that Rockstar is prioritising depth over raw scale.

Think about it from a design perspective. If you have six distinct regions, a dense coastal city, an industrial port town, agricultural heartland, mountain wilderness, island chains, and everglades swamp- you do not need the map to be enormous. You need each region to be detailed enough to justify being its own place. That appears to be exactly what Rockstar is building.

The comparison that keeps coming up in community discussions is that Leonida might end up being a similar physical size to GTA V’s map but feel dramatically larger because every part of it is doing something interesting.

Whether that turns out to be accurate, we will find out when the game releases.

Confirmed vs Fan Analysis: A Clear Summary

I want to make sure this is completely transparent before you close the page.

Note: If you have seen a different site present any of the unconfirmed items above as facts, that site is misleading you.

FAQs

That wraps up everything we know so far about the GTA VI map and locations. We hope you found this guide helpful and enjoyed exploring Rockstar’s massive new open world with us. If you’re planning to play the game on PC, be sure to check out our detailed GTA VI system requirements guide to see whether your system is ready for the next Grand Theft Auto experience. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest GTA VI news, gameplay updates, trailers, leaks, and in-depth guides.