GTA 6 Open World Update Has Us Hyped, but Its Increased Size Worries Me
The upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI is expected to deliver the largest and most detailed world in Rockstar Games’ history. Fan-made mapping projects, pieced together from trailer footage, suggest the state of Leonida could be two to three times the size of Grand Theft Auto V’s map. While this ambition is thrilling, it also sparks a pressing question: in the race for scale, will quality and density be sacrificed?
There’s no doubt that Rockstar has mastered the art of open-world immersion. Red Dead Redemption 2’s vast landscapes felt alive thanks to dynamic encounters, meticulous detail, and a deliberate pace. However, GTA V’s expansive map, while impressive, featured large tracts of undeveloped terrain between its urban hubs—areas that often felt like empty corridors during travel rather than destinations worth exploring.
This history fuels a legitimate concern as GTA VI aims for even greater scale. A map spanning a sprawling Vice City, multiple towns, vast swamps, and coastal areas risks repeating the “big but empty” trap if those spaces aren’t filled with meaningful interaction. The fear isn’t that the city will lack life, but that the journeys between points of interest could become tedious filler rather than engaging adventures.
Rockstar’s recent design philosophy offers hope. The studio has shown a growing commitment to environmental storytelling and random encounters, elements that made Red Dead Redemption 2’s wilderness feel continuous and engaging. The key to GTA VI’s success will be applying that same density of experience to a modern, vehicle-based world. It’s not just about having more land, but about ensuring every acre tells a story, hides a secret, or presents an unexpected moment.
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Ultimately, the studio’s willingness to delay the game multiple times suggests a focus on polish and depth over mere size. As fans, we’re right to be excited by the scale, but we’re also right to hope that Rockstar remembers the most important rule of world-building: it’s not about how big it is, but how alive it feels.