Rockstar Games is preparing a much larger world for Grand Theft Auto VI, but completing its main storyline will not necessarily take players through every part of the map. Despite the expanded scale, the developers want players to discover several locations on their own rather than making every region part of the main campaign.
The fictional state of Leonida is reportedly around twice the size of Los Santos and Blaine County combined in Grand Theft Auto V. Rockstar has also described it as the largest game world the studio has created so far, marking a significant expansion in the scale of its open-world design.
However, a bigger map does not mean every location will be covered through story missions.
Rockstar Wants Players to Explore Leonida Beyond the Main Story
Speaking to Game Informer, Rockstar developer Aaron Garbut said Grand Theft Auto VI features the studio’s largest world yet, by a considerable margin.
While the main storyline will introduce players to most of the important regions, Rockstar has intentionally avoided making every location a mandatory part of the campaign. This leaves room for players to explore the world at their own pace and discover places that the central narrative does not directly cover.
Rockstar Senior Vice President of Narrative Rupert Humphries explained that the story is designed to take players across the map in a natural and interesting way. However, he acknowledged that there is not enough time to introduce every location through the main storyline.
The idea is to give players a feel for most of Leonida’s locations, cultures and atmosphere while leaving other parts of the world open for independent exploration.
Vice City and Grassrivers Will Give Leonida Different Identities
Rockstar is also focusing on making the different regions feel like parts of one connected world rather than separate environments.
Vice City takes inspiration from Miami, while Grassrivers draws from the Florida Everglades. These locations will contribute different landscapes and surroundings to the wider setting of Leonida.
However, players should not expect every famous Florida destination to make an appearance. Locations such as Disney World, Universal Studios and the Space Coast, which is home to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, may not be included in the game.
This approach suggests that Rockstar is building a fictional version of Florida rather than attempting to recreate every major real-world attraction.
Hurricanes, Strong Winds and More Than 170 Animal Species
Beyond the size of the map, Rockstar is also expanding the environmental details that players can experience.
Grand Theft Auto VI will feature an advanced weather system influenced by Florida’s distinctive climate. Hurricanes and powerful winds are among the weather conditions expected to affect the game world, with environmental changes also influencing non-playable character (NPC) behaviour.
Wildlife will be another major part of Leonida. More than 170 animal species have been confirmed, including some with rare and legendary variants similar to the wildlife system seen in Red Dead Redemption 2.
These additions point towards a world where exploration will involve more than simply travelling between story missions. Weather conditions, animal encounters and the different characteristics of each region are expected to contribute to the overall experience.
A Larger World With More Room for Independent Exploration
Rockstar’s comments highlight an important distinction in Grand Theft Auto VI’s open-world design. Although Leonida is significantly larger than the world of GTA 5, the studio does not intend to guide players through every location using the main storyline.
Instead, the campaign will introduce much of the world while allowing players to discover the remaining areas themselves. For a game built around open-world exploration, this means that completing the main story and experiencing the entire map will be two different things.
With its larger setting, advanced weather system and expanded wildlife, GTA 6 is shaping up to offer plenty of reasons to keep exploring even after the central storyline has taken players across Leonida.
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