“The rooftops, the alleys, the internals and everything in between.” That is where Rockstar says it has invested heavily in GTA 6’s world, according to Video Games Chronicle’s report on the September 2026 Game Informer preview.
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It is a more revealing detail than the map’s size alone. Leonida is reportedly around twice the size of GTA V’s map, but Rockstar’s challenge is not simply to give players more ground to cover. It is to make that ground worth exploring.
Six distinct regions, more than 170 animal species, localised weather and activities ranging from base jumping to mini golf suggest that Rockstar is approaching the world from several directions at once. The question is how these details will change the experience of exploring Leonida.
A Bigger Map Needs More Than Empty Space
Rockstar art director Aaron Garbut describes Leonida as the biggest world the studio has created, at roughly twice the size of GTA V’s map. But his comments about interiors and environmental detail reveal a second priority: making buildings and their surroundings feel like parts of a connected place.
That matters because a large map can still feel empty if its locations offer little beyond scenery. Rockstar says it has worked on the rooftops, alleys, interiors and details between them, aiming for a world with greater density and a handcrafted feel.
Those are ambitious goals, but they are also more useful indicators than a size comparison alone. The amount of explorable space tells us how big the world is. Its details and interactions will determine how much players get out of it.
For the size comparison itself, including what is known about GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2, see our guide to GTA 6’s map size.
Six Regions, Six Different Sides of Leonida
The six named regions are Vice City, the Leonida Keys, Grassrivers, Port Gellhorn, Ambrosia and Mount Kalaga National Park. The descriptions in VGC’s September preview report reveal more than a list of place names. They suggest a state with contrasting local identities.
- Vice City: Inspired by Miami, with Art Deco architecture, beaches and a major cruise ship port. It is the urban centre of Leonida.
- Leonida Keys: Rockstar’s take on the Florida Keys, bringing coastal and island environments into the map.
- Grassrivers: An Everglades-inspired wetland, with wildlife central to its natural setting.
- Port Gellhorn: A faded tourist destination, with cheap motels and rundown shopping centres rather than the polished image of a major resort.
- Ambrosia: Leonida’s industrial heart, with factories, refineries and a local biker gang wielding significant influence.
- Mount Kalaga National Park: A wilderness region at Leonida’s northern edge, drawing on the culture of the Florida-Georgia border.
The contrast is what makes this lineup interesting. Vice City has the architecture and attractions of a major coastal city. Port Gellhorn represents tourism past its prime. Ambrosia has a different identity built around industry and biker culture, while Grassrivers shifts the focus to wetlands and wildlife.
These settings give Rockstar room to tell different stories through the places themselves, not just through mission dialogue. Whether every region has enough activities and discoveries to sustain repeated visits is the bigger test.
Rockstar’s own GTA VI website provides the official overview of Leonida and its locations.
The Wildlife Includes Florida’s Unwanted Guests
GTA 6 is set to feature more than 170 animal species across land, air and sea. Game Informer’s wildlife report confirms the overall count and highlights an especially Florida-specific detail: the game includes invasive animals alongside native wildlife.
Green iguanas, cane toads, feral cats and rhesus macaque monkeys are among the invasive species named in the report. They will appear alongside alligators, flamingos, manatees and pelicans. VGC and Push Square report the further breakdown: 60 types of birds and 30 land mammals.
The inclusion of invasive species is a small but telling detail. Rockstar is not just populating Leonida with recognisable wildlife. It is drawing on the unusual mix of animals found in real Florida, where introduced species have become part of the environment.
There is also a discovery system. Game Informer reports that certain animals can be tracked under the categories Rare, Discoverable and Legendary, although their identities remain secret.
That gives wildlife a more specific role in exploration. Rather than treating every animal as background scenery, players may have reasons to search for particular species and record what they find. The full mechanics are not yet clear, but the categories offer a concrete reason to look more closely at the world.
Weather That Leaves the World Changed
GTA 6’s weather system builds on the approach used in Red Dead Redemption 2, according to Push Square’s preview summary. Rain can create rainbows and puddles, while wet surfaces remain visible after the shower has passed.
The wider reporting also describes localised weather, tropical storms and hurricanes. In VGC’s account of the preview, severe storms bring water pouring from rooftops and lampposts, while thunder and lightning illuminate the surrounding clouds.
Those are vivid details, but the more important feature is persistence. Weather is not just something players see while rain falls. Its effects can remain after the storm moves on, changing the appearance of streets and surfaces.
Localised weather also means that conditions can differ across Leonida at the same time. One area may have clear skies while rain falls nearby. That could make the world feel less uniform as players move between regions.
Rockstar has not fully explained how often severe weather will occur or how it will affect missions. What it has described, however, goes beyond a simple change from sunshine to rain.
From Base Jumping to Mini Golf
The activity list covers an unusually broad range of pastimes. Push Square’s summary of the Game Informer preview includes:
- Airboating and jet skiing
- Base jumping
- Billiards
- Gyms
- Kayaking and scuba diving
- Mini golf
- Street and off-road racing
- Zoo visits
That is quite a range: one activity sends players leaping from heights, while another invites them to play a relaxed round of mini golf. Others focus on water, vehicles, fitness or wildlife.
The variety matters because an open world does not have to be experienced entirely through missions. Side activities can give players a reason to visit different parts of the map, spend time with the game’s characters and choose their own pace.
The list confirms that these activities are planned, not how deep each one will be. Still, it suggests that Rockstar wants Leonida to offer more than a large setting for the main story.
The Real Test Is How These Details Work Together
The most interesting question is not how many regions, animals or activities GTA 6 contains. It is whether those elements make the world feel connected.
A distinctive region gives players a reason to travel somewhere. Wildlife gives them something to look for when they arrive. Weather can change the environment while they are there, and side activities can offer something to do beyond the main missions.
That is the potential behind Rockstar’s focus on density. Each feature can add value on its own, but the world will feel most convincing if they support one another rather than functioning as isolated checklist items.
The available reporting gives us credible reasons to be interested in Leonida. The remaining question is how consistently the finished game will turn those features into meaningful exploration.
A map twice the size of GTA V’s creates the space. The details Rockstar has revealed suggest it is trying to give players reasons to use it.
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