GTA 6 is set in Vice City, USA, and across the surrounding state of Leonida. Rockstar's own story line puts Jason and Lucia in "the sunniest place in America" after a score goes wrong. Leonida is the studio's take on Florida: Edge says a small group visited Miami in 2015 when the team began considering a return to Vice City.
- NextRelease time by countryMidnight-local unlock in every store region.
- NextPre-load timeWhen downloads open on 10 November.
- NextStorage checkerWill it fit? Free-space calculator for every console.
What Rockstar has named
Official posts describe Vice City, USA, and a criminal conspiracy that stretches across the state of Leonida. Jason and Lucia have to rely on each other if they want to make it out alive. Confirmed [1] [2] Retailer copy on JB Hi-Fi and EB Games repeats that Newswire blurb word for word. [1] [2]
GamesHub, writing about the Edge screenshots, calls Leonida "GTA 6's Florida-inspired setting" and describes an underwater shot in a coral-lined passage. Reported [1]
Why Florida, and why Vice City
Edge reports that in 2015, while Red Dead Redemption 2 was still in production, Rob Nelson led a small group to Miami to consider what a return to Vice City might look and feel like, picking out locations and parts of Florida culture for larger research teams to explore later. "The state was settled upon relatively quickly," the feature says, "its dense cities, swamps and varied landscapes offering obvious possibilities." Reported [1]
They held back on locking the Bonnie-and-Clyde-style story until Red Dead Redemption 2 was finished. The earliest work concentrated on place rather than plot. [1]
Rockstar has said the map is roughly twice the size of GTA 5, and that the total landmass — including Vice City and the surrounding areas — is nearly as large as the playable maps of GTA 4, GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 combined. Reported [1] [2] Full ratios are on GTA 6 map size.
What year is GTA 6 set in?
Unknown Rockstar has not posted a calendar year for the story on the pages we cite here. The trailers and the Edge session present a contemporary world of smartphones, social apps and current Florida-inspired culture, but "what year is GTA 6 set in" still does not have an official number. We will add one when Rockstar states it.
Places fans ask about
Vice City is the headline city, not the whole map. Leonida also includes swamps, keys, smaller towns and countryside, which is why searches for Key West, Miami and Florida all attach themselves to this game. Named areas that have turned up in official trailers and listings are collected on our Leonida map, each labelled with a source. We do not invent real-world equivalents that Rockstar has not pointed to.
Characters live in that world too: see Jason, Lucia and the confirmed cast.
Where to go next
Planning launch night? Check your local unlock hour on the GTA 6 release time table, when pre-load opens, and whether 212 GB will fit. Explore Leonida on the interactive map, and bookmark GTA 6 cheats, which lists only codes we can verify once the game is out. More explainers: all GTA 6 guides.
FAQ
What city is GTA 6 based on?
Vice City, USA, inside the state of Leonida. Edge says Rockstar researched a return to Vice City with a trip to Miami in 2015, and that Florida was chosen fairly quickly.
Is GTA 6 set in Florida?
Leonida is Florida-inspired. Rockstar's own text names Vice City, USA, and the state of Leonida rather than the real Florida.
Is GTA 6 only set in Vice City?
No. Vice City is the main city; the story stretches across Leonida, which Edge describes as including dense cities, swamps and varied landscapes.
What year is GTA 6 set in?
Rockstar has not published a year. The official material looks contemporary, but the calendar year is unknown.