While Rockstar has teased the size of GTA 6's playable map a few times, the heads behind the next Grand Theft Auto outing also want you to know that it's not all hollow space. Anywhere you go, there's intentionality.
Speaking to Edge, Rockstar says GTA 6's map is nearly as large as the combined efforts of Grand Theft Auto 4, 5, and Red Dead Redemption 2. But it doesn't stop there. While you often see procedural generation to achieve sheer size, Rockstar leans on a human touch to ensure the map is dense with interest. Rockstar North co-studio lead Aaron Garbut says GTA 6 features "an order of magnitude more interiors" than what's come before.
"Every back alley is as densely detailed and interesting as the others," he says. "You can go anywhere, any random location, and so many people have thought about that location."
Such is the case; Garbut says he's still finding new things despite having explored the game for many years during its development.
Rockstar's ambition is the sort we've seen in the games industry for many years, as developers drum up excitement by teasing scale and interactivity we've never seen before. When marketing Skyrim, Bethesda boss Todd Howard famously said "that mountain is not just a backdrop; you can walk all the way to the top of that mountain."
He isn't the only one, of course – Randy Pitchford did something similar with Borderlands 4 just last year. Still, the sense that there's something more to what's in front of you than what's come before is something I still enjoy.
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