As part of a major GTA 6 announcement that included a new gameplay trailer distributed via Netflix, Rockstar Games shared new details about the size and length of its upcoming open-world game. Rockstar's head of development, Rob Nelson, told YouTuber TGG during a visit to Rockstar North that the overall map is twice the size of GTA 5's map and three times the size of Red Dead Redemption 2's map. Nelson also said Vice City itself is twice the size of Los Santos, and that Vice City together with its surrounding suburbs is 11 times bigger than Los Santos and its surrounding areas.
The same figures were corroborated by a New York Times preview based on interviews with Rockstar developers, according to reporting from Polygon and GamesRadar+. Polygon noted that Red Dead Redemption 2's full map has been measured at roughly 43.89 square miles, with about 29 square miles playable, while GTA 5's map is believed to span around 100 square miles, though much of that includes ocean. Rockstar has not officially released comparable figures for GTA 6's map.
PC Gamer raised a note of skepticism about the comparison, suggesting that Red Dead Redemption 2 may only feel larger than GTA 5 because it is more densely packed and traversed more slowly, while GTA 5's overall map has generally been considered bigger. Regardless, outlets agreed that a GTA 6 map twice the size of GTA 5's would represent an enormous landmass for Rockstar to build on.
Nelson also described GTA 6's world as feeling like "a whole other world," with a lot of content players can discover emergently rather than through markers or objectives, adding that players who take time to explore "will be rewarded — a lot," according to GamesRadar+. Kotaku noted that the newly revealed gameplay footage showed scenes such as protagonist Lucia looking out over a sprawling city before skydiving off a skyscraper, as well as characters using jet skis, kayaks, and airboats, with previously leaked footage also showing flight over the map.
On length, Nelson told the New York Times that his own playthrough of the game in February took about 80 hours, covering the main story along with some optional goals that had narrative consequences. Multiple outlets, including Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, and Polygon, cited this same 80-hour estimate, noting it suggests players sticking to the main path could finish in a relatively contained time, while those pursuing side content could expect much more.
Eurogamer noted that six key locations across the fictional Florida-inspired state of Leonida have been revealed so far: Vice City, Port Gellhorn, the Leonida Keys, the Grassrivers swamps, Mount Kalaga National Park, and Ambrosia. The outlet also observed that the reveal helped Rockstar shift attention back to the game itself after a week marked by leaks, even as the company faces separate controversy in the UK over allegations of union busting. Polygon reported that GTA 6 is set to release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X on November 19.