Game Informer lifts the lid on Leonida: a map twice GTA V's, six regions and every activity

The cover story is now free to read. Aaron Garbut says it is Rockstar's biggest map by some degree, the six regions are described, and mini golf, billiards, kayaking and zoos are confirmed.

Game Informer announced it on Friday, and on 29 September issue 382 finally went live: 14 pages on GTA 6, interviews with several people at Rockstar and 12 exclusive screenshots. It is written by Marcus Stewart, a South Florida native, and it circles one question: how far Rockstar has gone to make Leonida feel like the real Florida, in its landscapes and its people.

Hours later, Rockstar announced on X that it had partnered with the magazine to make the story free in the Game Informer app. The rush of readers knocked the app over for a while, several outlets reported.

Rockstar's biggest map, "by some degree"

Aaron Garbut, co-studio head at Rockstar North, tells the magazine that Leonida is the biggest map the studio has made "by some degree" and that it is around twice the size of GTA V's. But he stresses that size is not the point; what's inside is:

"This new world is different. We obsessed about every part – the rooftops, the alleys, the internals and everything in between to the point we hit a critical mass with the numbers of our interiors, and you start to feel the buildings are more real inside and out."

A note on the numbers. In August, Rockstar told the New York Times the map was about three times the size of Red Dead Redemption 2's. The two comparisons don't quite line up with each other, and Rockstar hasn't explained how it measured in either case. So they are best read as orders of magnitude, not square kilometres.

The six regions of Leonida

The story goes through the map's six areas and the part of Florida behind each one:

The names were already on Rockstar's official site; what's new is the description of each one. The full territory is in our GTA 6 map guide.

Confirmed activities

The story includes a list of things to do away from the story. Some were already seen in August's gameplay, others are new:

• Base jumping
• Billiards
• Gyms
• Kayaking
• Mini golf
• Scuba diving
• Street and off-road racing
• Zoo visits
• Airboats
• Jet skis

The list matches across VGC, Push Square and Insider Gaming, which have read the full issue. Rockstar hasn't explained how each activity works or whether any are tied to the story.

How Rockstar did its research

Rupert Humphries, Rockstar's senior vice president of narrative, says the team has spent years travelling to Florida for reference (as GamesRadar reports):

"We go and try to experience everything, from riding around areas at night with ex-cops, to going to strip clubs and nightclubs, spending time on the beach, in the Everglades, down in the Keys, and beyond."

That fits what the trailers have shown, which lean heavily on the Florida of viral videos and odd headlines. The aim, according to the story, is for every part of the map to feel recognisable, not just Miami.

Weather and wildlife, in detail

The two big technical reveals have their own articles:

• The new weather system: localised storms, lingering puddles, rainbows, tropical storms and hurricanes.
• The wildlife: more than 170 species, from manatees, flamingos and alligators to iguanas and monkeys, plus legendary animals you can track.

The 12 screenshots

The new screenshots are exclusive to Game Informer, so we don't reproduce them; they are on the magazine's special site. According to Push Square, they show Jason and Lucia relaxing on the beach, Lucia in cover during a shootout, Jason escaping a biker gang and landscapes under different weather. We go through them one by one in this article. The header image of this story is not from the magazine: it is an official Mount Kalaga screenshot published on Rockstar's site.

FAQ

How big is the GTA 6 map?

According to Aaron Garbut of Rockstar North, around twice the size of GTA V's, and the biggest Rockstar has made. In August, Rockstar told the New York Times it was about three times the size of Red Dead Redemption 2's.

Where can I read the Game Informer story?

In the Game Informer app, free thanks to a deal with Rockstar. The print edition will reach subscribers and shops over the coming weeks.

What activities will GTA 6 have?

Among others: base jumping, billiards, gyms, kayaking, mini golf, scuba diving, street and off-road racing, zoo visits, airboats and jet skis.