Edge: GTA 6 World as Big as GTA 4, 5 and RDR2 Combined

Jason and Lucia, the protagonists of GTA 6. Image: Rockstar Games

Edge magazine's Grand Theft Auto VI special edition is out today, October 29, 2026, and it is the most detailed look at Rockstar's new world yet. Edge staff traveled to Rockstar North's Edinburgh headquarters, watched the game played for 90 minutes, and interviewed the developers on the record. The headline finding: the land area of Leonida comes close to the explorable space of Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2 put together, and the number of buildings players can enter is an order of magnitude greater than in Rockstar's earlier games.

Key Takeaways

• Edge's GTA 6 special edition (issue #430) is out today, October 29, 2026, with a 16-page feature and exclusive Rockstar interviews.
• Leonida's land area is close to GTA 4, GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 combined, and roughly twice the size of Blaine County.
• Rockstar says GTA 6 has an order of magnitude more enterable interiors than its earlier games.
• A smell reaction system that began as one scripted gag now runs across multiple locations.
• The map opens up early instead of gating Leonida behind long story stretches.

How big is Leonida, really?

The Leonida Keys region in GTA 6. Image: Rockstar Games

Edge's reporting puts the scale of Leonida, the state that contains Vice City, close to the combined explorable space of Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2. The new territory is approximately twice the size of Blaine County from GTA 5, which makes it the largest virtual space Rockstar has ever built. But the developers stressed to Edge that the goal was not simply to make the map bigger. Every square meter is meant to be dense with handcrafted detail, and the extra space is not all outdoors: much of it is inside buildings players can actually enter.

That density is also the explanation for the game's size. GTA 6's reported 210GB install footprint, which we covered earlier, comes from complex geometry, seamless loading and detailed environments across a world this large. The ambition is not just a bigger map but a more interactive one, and the Edge feature frames it as the most ambitious console release of the generation.

What does "an order of magnitude more interiors" mean?

Rockstar co-studio head Aaron Garbut told Edge that GTA 6 has an order of magnitude more interiors than the studio's earlier games, though Rockstar has not given an exact count of enterable buildings or said what share of Leonida's buildings players can open. The interiors are not empty shells either. Garbut described finding family photos of a dog in one house, then discovering the next room had been trashed by that same dog, with Jason reacting to the smell through a system the team can reuse in different places.

That throwaway detail grew into something bigger. What began as a single scripted reaction to a bad smell became a broader smell reaction system that triggers varying degrees of face-scrunching from protagonists Lucia and Jason at multiple locations. In the demo Edge watched, Jason walked into a filthy house and began grimacing and recoiling even though the reaction had not been set up as a deliberately crafted encounter. It reads as Rockstar doing what it has long done: over-engineering a small detail until it behaves like a world.

Will the map open up early?

A Vice City street interior in GTA 6. Image: Rockstar Games

Yes, according to Rockstar. GTA 6's map will open up relatively early instead of locking major areas behind long stretches of story progression, a shift away from the gated design of Grand Theft Auto IV, where bridges stayed blocked until the campaign opened them. GTA 5 loosened that approach after its opening tutorials, and GTA 6 follows that model more closely. Players will still go through early story beats that introduce the cast and the core mechanics, but the larger world is expected to open fairly quickly, and anyone eager to leave Vice City behind and head north should be able to do it.

Garbut also told Edge he is still finding new locations in Leonida himself, which says something about how dense the world has become. The design is not built around confining players to one corner for hours. The story will still guide players through plenty of the map as it unfolds, but the rhythm is different: explore first, and let the story meet you out there.

What else did Edge reveal?

The 16-page feature includes a double-sided gatefold of Jason and Lucia reloading firearms near a car hood, bespoke screenshots, and analysis of the updated RAGE engine, AI and vehicle physics. Writers Rupert Humphries, James Horton and Rob Nelson spoke on the record: Humphries said the writers share a sense of humor and a desire to have fun with the ridiculousness of humans and the media, Horton said there are no shortcuts when it comes to building a world like this, and Nelson said the game will give players more agency during missions while keeping narrative priority. Separately, and just as unexpectedly, the latest South Park episode features a new GTA 6 gameplay clip showing Jason on a packed Vice City beach, in a scene that ends with a beach brawl. It is a strange place for new footage to surface, but with launch weeks away, even a cartoon cameo counts as a new look at the game.

GTA 6 launches on November 19, 2026, on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. With the Edge feature landing today and the review embargo reportedly set for November 18, the final three weeks before launch are when the remaining secrets come out.

FAQ

How big is GTA 6's map?
Leonida's land area is close to GTA 4, GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 combined, and roughly twice Blaine County from GTA 5.

Can you enter more buildings in GTA 6?
Yes. Rockstar says there are an order of magnitude more enterable interiors than in its earlier games, though no exact count has been given.

When does GTA 6 launch?
November 19, 2026, on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. There is no PC version at launch.

What is the Edge GTA 6 special edition?
Edge magazine's issue #430, out October 29, 2026, with a 16-page GTA 6 feature, exclusive Rockstar interviews and bespoke screenshots.

For more GTA 6 coverage, see our GTA 6 release date, price, map and characters hub, our report on GTA 6's reported 210GB download, and our GTA 6 review code and embargo story.

Images: Rockstar Games (official GTA 6 artwork and screenshots).