Rockstar Games has revealed that Grand Theft Auto 6's map will be three times the size of the playable area in Red Dead Redemption 2. This significant expansion also means the map is twice as large as that of Grand Theft Auto 5.
Vice City itself is reportedly twice the size of Los Santos from GTA 5, and when considering the surrounding areas, Vice City and its suburbs combined are eleven times larger than Los Santos and its environs. This expansion aims to create a more immersive and layered world for players to explore.
In addition to its vast scale, Grand Theft Auto 6 will feature hundreds of accessible interiors. While Grand Theft Auto 5 allowed players to enter some buildings, such as character homes and select shops, the number of enterable locations was limited and often required loading screens. GTA Online has since added more interiors, but these can also be restrictive. The extended look at GTA 6 has already showcased a variety of interiors available both during missions and in free exploration, suggesting a more detailed and interactive environment.
Rob Nelson from Rockstar Games explained to IGN that the development team has built upon the lessons learned from creating Red Dead Redemption 2's detailed open world. Nelson stated that with Red Dead Redemption 2, the team finally possessed the technology and manpower to create a fully realized and consistent world. He elaborated that the studio took the time to maximize the quality of the open world's population, design, and gameplay, ensuring that players would constantly be drawn into the environment while traversing it. This approach aimed to create a sense of wonder and a feeling that the world was alive.
Nelson confirmed that Grand Theft Auto 6 continues this philosophy, with the team striving to build the largest, deepest, and most densely populated and complex world Rockstar has ever created, designed for players to get lost in.