In this article we will try to put all the available information that we know about GTA 6 and it’s Leonida map. As we already have a 90 seconds video trailer of the game that will be based on Florida’s surrounding swamps – Everglades. We will explore all the locations available compared to the real world.
We will start with GTA 5 that has introduce 2d counties to the franchise: Los Santos County (Los Angeles-inspired city) and Blaine County (northern region). Grand Theft Auto 6 is aiming for 3 counties.
Vice Dale County – that we can see on the Sheriff’s badge in the background of Mega Noticias’ news report on a character seemingly based on the Florida Joker.
Leonard County – which appears on a police car in the fictional social media clip from PlanetLeonidaMan.
Kelly County – which is listed on various road signs.
Previously Vice City was based on Miami so here it’s very likely that the ice Dale County is based on Miami-Dade County, which contains the city and its outskirts, including much of the Everglades. We do hope that the Rockstar will include the city as well as this was already done on the GTA 5 with Los Santos County. We do expect that the Vice Dale County will likely just include Vice City and perhaps a taste of its outskirts.
Looking at the Florida map, Miami-Dade County lies in the south east and is bordered on its western border by Monroe County slightly south and Collier County slightly north. Above Miami-Dade lies Broward County, and while its real cities like Fort Lauderdale are distinct, they still lie within the Miami metropolitan area and are perhaps too aesthetically similar to Vice City to include as well. We therefore expect GTA 6 will include fictional versions of Monroe County and Collier County alongside Vice Dale.
One of these counties will likely include the Everglades-inspired swamp area, and we expect the other to cover the prison and dustier small towns seen in the trailer. But which is which? The PlanetLeonidaMan social media clip that references Leonard County shows a small town gas station, and the blue and yellow signage is a clear reference to Sunoco. This is a gas station chain with locations all over the United States, but as you can see in the image below, none are present in the south western, swampy Everglades area. This pins the gas station and its Leonard County police car in the north western area, or Collier County.
This would make Kelly County the fictionalised Monroe County, and various road signs support this too. We see Kelly County referenced in two parts of the trailer: first when a girl is waving her arms while driving through Vice City in a convertible, and another in the GeneralCustardCannon social media clip seemingly right outside the city. It makes sense road signs within Vice City, in the south east, would point first to the south western region, before offering directions to the further away north western, which suggests Kelly County is that Everglades inspired area.
The GTA 6 map will therefore likely feature Vice Dale County (and Vice City within it) in the south east, the Everglades containing Kelly County in the south west, and scattered small towns and the prison in north western Leonard County. Together they form Leonida, Rockstar’s fictional take on Florida.
Though nothing is confirmed yet, fans even think they know how the state will roughly be laid out after spotting what could be a map in the GTA 6 key art. By zooming into the bottom right corner, a notice board of sorts includes what could be a map that bears resemblance to the south east of Florida. Though it appears incomplete, a Miami Beach looking area can be seen as an offshoot of the mainland. Whether this is the map or not remains to be seen, but regardless, now that we have the general lay of the land, let’s look at some specific spots in the trailer.
Stay tuned part 2 of the insights is coming soon.
