GTA 5 Map

Last Edited by TreeFitty May 13, 2013 : 314 Comments : 521,315 Views

How big will the map for Grand Theft Auto V actually be, and what exactly will it contain? That's what everyone wants to know, isn't it? Sadly at this early stage there isn't actually a lot that we do know, but we know enough to make some educated guesses.

How Big Will The GTA 5 Map Be? - "Very Big"

Rockstar Games stated that it will be the "largest and most ambitious" game yet. To most people that seems to imply that it will be the largest GTA game map, but how big is that really? The largest GTA map so far is San Andreas at 13.9 square miles (36 square kilometers), so for GTA V to actually have the largest map yet it would have to beat that size.

In a magazine interview, Dan Houser announced to Game Informer magazine that the map will be "very big", which still didn't tell us much. Game Informer's preview of GTA V finally let us in on something more accurate:

"Just how big is this world? Art director Aaron Garbut crunched the math. When you include interior and exterior spaces together, Los Santos is bigger than the worlds of Red Dead Redemption, San Andreas, and Grand Theft Auto IV combined, with room to spare."

iGTA5

Now that is BIG! A couple previews released on May 2nd, 2013 provided another comparison: the landmass will be 3.5-times the size of Red Dead Redemption. The total play area including the underwater realm will be 5-times the size. That means the underwater area will be a whopping third of the map!

What Will It Contain?

At a minimum we know the GTA 5 map will contain the city of Los Santos, mountains, beaches, and farmland. The ocean floor will also have plenty to see as well. Could it contain anything else is what we want to know.

Other Cities

Sadly it was confirmed in Game Informer's December issue that Los Santos is the only major city to be included in Grand Theft Auto V. There will, however, be some small towns scattered in the countryside. There isn't a whole lot of information available about these small towns at this time, but we do know they will make up the rural areas of Blaine County and there will be areas named Grapeseed and Sandy Shores. iGTA5

Military Base

Game Informer's December issue confirmed that the map will include a military base, possibly based on Edwards Air Force Base which is located not too far north of Los Angeles. This would seem to be the source of the Hydra military jet seen speeding through the skyscrapers of downtown Los Santos in the first trailer.

Fake "Leaked" GTA 5 Maps

It hadn't even been a full week after the trailer before so-called 'leaked maps' began appearing on the internet, claiming to be the actual map from GTA V. Of course all of these maps are fake and nobody from Rockstar, or who has access to the game, can or even would leak the map. Just think of all the non-disclosure forms they'd have to have signed before they could even see the game in the first place! Nonetheless people keep making and posting them. Check out a few culprits below... iGTA5

Why it is fake:

Plenty of distortion (what's up with the blobs all over the image?)
There seems to be too many straight edges along the water.
Many prominent Los Angeles features are missing (shape of the land, nothing resembles an airport, etc).
"Las Palmas" was incorrectly spotted on a license plate in the first trailer. There is no Las Palmas plate. They are all San Andreas.
The roadways appear to be overly dense or missing and there is a lack of major freeways.
Why is the roadway broken on the right? Someone got lazy...

>>> Forum topic about this map

Why it is fake:

A little too cartoony compared to GTA IV's map and reminiscent of the San Andreas map.
Those blue lines are supposed to be the railway, not a creek (someone doesn't know how to pick colors).
In a larger image, the map was based heavily (if not completely) on the torn poster edge in The Ballad of Gay Tony including the nearly straight edge on the right (who does that???).
A screenshot "leaked" with the map shows an obvious GTA IV mod/Photoshop job.

>>> Forum topic about this map

Why it is fake:

Another cartoony map and much less professional than the previous.
There are a few islands right next to the mainland, completely unlike Los Angeles.
The map layout in general does not really resemble LA.

>>> Forum post of this map

Clearly all of the fake GTA 5 maps are mutually exclusive and can't all be real anyway. iGTA5

What will the map ACTUALLY look like? Take a look through the long discussion in the GTA 5 Map forum topic here. Numerous members have added their input, created maps, and evolved their ideas as more and more screenshots and trailers become available. Check it out and join in!

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