Inside 'Grand Theft Auto VI', and the Real-Life Florida Locations That Inspired It

Set to be released on November 19, 2026, Grand Theft Auto VI is expected to be the most profitable piece of media ever created. Pre-sale estimates suggest the game has made a staggering $476 million in revenue already.

Dreamt up by Scottish developers Rockstar Games, the GTA series has been big business for some time now. The previous instalment, Grand Theft Auto V has reportedly made a whopping $11 billion since its release in 2013. Not bad for a game in which you essentially steal cars and shoot guns.

If you haven’t played the games, you should know that they take place in a sort of shadow version of the US, with each game taking place in a new city inspired by a real-world counterpart. For me, they’ve been a fascinating companion to my travels in America. When I’m in New York , walking among towering skyscrapers, I can’t help but be reminded of Liberty City, the location of 2001’s dark and atmospheric Grand Theft Auto III . On holiday in Los Angeles , driving along the Pacific Coast Highway, the long, ocean-view roads of GTA V ’s Los Santos were front of mind.

It works both ways. Red Dead Redemption 2 , an open-world cowboy game released by Rockstar between GTA s V and VI, is perhaps the most immersive video game to date. In it, you can wander everywhere from dry, open deserts to lush forests where you can kick back with your horse, camp, and look for rare herbs and flowers. For me, it’s inspired trips to the deserts of the American Southwest and served as an interesting entry point into learning about US history. Now when I’m abroad, I’m thinking of these games, but also learning more about the real-world events and cultures that inspired them. It’s a full-circle moment that only enriches my travels.

These gaming vacations, or ‘gami-vacations’, are becoming increasingly popular. Fans are traveling to Tokyo to visit real-life locations from the Yakuza series and role-playing classic Persona 5 , to Paris to see locations featured in the Assassin’s Creed series, to the Pacific Northwest to soak up the vibes of zombie classic Day Gone , and to Iceland to walk dramatic black sand beaches like those in the Hellblade series.

“Santa Monica, the Sunset Strip, and Griffith Observatory from GTA V ,” one Reddit user replied to a post asking about video game locations fans wanted to visit in real life. “Old town Tallinn feels like a very fairytale environment to me. If you went in winter , it would feel like a set from Assassin's Creed ,” suggests another Redditor .

Far from being confined to their rooms, crouched over consoles, gamers are increasingly inspired to get out into the world. It’s a beautiful tradition, and one that GTA 6 looks set to continue. Set in the fictional state of Leonida, GTA 6 is set to be the franchise’s largest map to date. With six key locations, there promises to be something for every type of traveller. Here’s what you need to know, along with the real-world inspirations for each game location.

“We’re a long way from the ‘80s, but Vice City is still the sun and fun capital of America,” reads Rockstar’s official guide to GTA VI ’s base of operations, Vice City.

As fans are aware, the new game returns to the setting of the 2002 release, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City . Set in the 1980s, that game borrowed pretty heavily from the story of Brian De Palma’s brace of crime films Scarface and Carlito’s Way , giving players the ability to control one Tommy Vercetti as he rises from the streets to build a narcotics empire. As expected, disco, perms, neon signs and flared trousers were the order of the day.

Updated for 2026, GTA VI ’s Vice City is a modern cityscape full of high-rises, trendy rooftop bars , nightclubs. and more. It sounds pretty idyllic, but this being GTA , there’s a shadier side, too. “When the sun fades and the neon glows, everyone has something to gain, and more to lose,” the official longline reads.

The recent Netflix preview of the upcoming game gave us a bit more insight into the locale, including shots of BASE jumping from city bridges, a jewelry store robbery and subsequent high-speed escape, and a shootout through a drug den in a down-on-its-luck neighbourhood. In other words, as the main large city in the game, it looks like there’s plenty to keep Vice City residents occupied, on both sides of the law.

Inspiration: While Rockstar doesn’t explicitly explain that ‘game location X equals real world location Y’, it’s pretty obvious that Vice City is based on South Florida ’s party capital, Miami . Despite the criminal element of Vice City, the real-world city has been keen to play on the connection. A New York Times story suggests the city is keen to embrace its fictional twin due to a drastic drop in real-world crime recently. Which is, of course, great news for tourists. For the full GTA experience, you can enjoy Miami’s beaches, bars, and car culture, alongside iconic EDM nightspots like Club Space and E11EVEN Miami.

In Leonida Keys, the dress code is casual and the bars are loaded. “Life in this tropical archipelago isn’t flashy, but it’s easy,” runs the official description. In game, the Keys look like an ideal place to hit pristine tropical waters for a dive, jet ski, or scuba trip. Naturally, there seems to be a strong party boat presence too, with a Spring Break vibe. While we’re sure some absolute in-game carnage will take place there, at present, it actually looks like quite a nice place to unwind and escape the more criminal elements of the game’s plot.

Inspiration: The obvious IRL comp here is Key West , nestled at the very southern tip of Florida. In fact, here you can see the southernmost point in the continental US, just 90 miles from Cuba as the crow flies. As well as a plethora of luxury hotels , casual bars, and seafood spots, you can kick back on white beaches, or enjoy a glass-bottomed boat tour.

For a break from all of this, you can visit the Hemingway Home, where Ernest Hemingway finished books including A Farewell to Arms and To Have and Have Not, that is, when he wasn’t out big-game fishing. The house is home to the first-ever swimming pool built in the Keys, as well as descendants of Hemingway’s famous six-toed cats.

Fans don’t know much about GTA 6 ’s Grassrivers yet, although the official synopsis does suggest some intrigue: “You never know what lies beneath the surface of this primordial expanse. The gators may be the most famous attraction, but there are far deadlier predators and weirder discoveries among the mangroves.” So far, all we’ve seen is an airboat tour and a birdwatching tower, suggesting a heavy emphasis on encounters with the natural world. Watch this space.

Inspiration: Clearly inspired by the Florida Everglades , Grassrivers will surely have a feel and flavor all of its own. The real Everglades has a rich cultural history. Yes, there are airboat tours catered to tourists during which you can spot ‘gators and learn all about the invasive pythons that are terrorising the ecosystem. And yes, you will be able to try deep-fried gator afterwards. But the real treasure is traditional foods like thick and chewy fry bread, swamp cabbage, or sofkee, a thin porridge made from corn.

And, at the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum near Fort Lauderdale in the north of the Everglades, you can learn about the Seminole nation, a group made up of Native Americans moving south to escape the British, mixed with escaped formerly enslaved peoples from the area’s plantations.

If GTA 6 were represented on an old-timey naval map, Port Gellhorn a “failed resort on the edge of the map" might be marked “here be monsters.”

We know very little about the area yet, except for the fact that it’s rooted in poverty, with locals pushed to extremes to make ends meet. According to Rockstar, “Cheap motels, shut-down attractions and empty strip malls won’t bring the tourists back, but there’s a new economy in this once-popular vacation spot. It’s fuelled by malt liquor, painkillers and truck-stop energy drinks. Jump on a dirt bike and hold onto your wallet.” In other words, it sounds like a great place for a video game, less so for a holiday.

Inspiration: Again, Rockstar hasn’t been open about which area of Florida Port Gellhorn is based on, but fans and Florida locals think it takes inspiration from Panama City and the surrounding areas in the Florida Panhandle. Off the beaten track of most holidays, Panama City nevertheless has a strong reputation for seafood and water sports. Given its deepwater port, there’s also a strong maritime history. St Andrews State Park might be your best bet for snorkelling, swimming, kayaking and a calm and safe designated tidal pool.

Ambrosia sounds, possibly, like the least appealing locale in GTA 6 . It’s reportedly a factory town, overseen by vicious biker gangs. “In the heart of Leonida, American industry and old-school values still reign supreme, whatever the cost. The Allied Crystal sugar refinery provides the jobs, while the local biker gang provides almost everything else,” runs Rockstar’s official primer on the place. The Netflix preview didn’t help. We saw a shootout in a dilapidated house, backyard wrestling, and possibly some mud-wrestling too. Mark this one as the biggest unknown of the game.

Inspiration: Florida locals think Ambrosia is based on Clewiston, Florida and the surrounding agricultural area around Lake Okeechobee. The main crop here is sugar, with Clewiston known as "America's Sweetest Town.” The irony in the in-game depiction is pretty obvious here, but the IRL location is well worth a visit if you’re a fan of fishing, with the local largemouth bass on Lake Okeechobee a particularly sought-after prize.

Mount Kalaga National Park looks like a truly beautiful in-game location, teeming with wildlife and activities from bicycle riding to kayaking. What’s not to love? Well, this bucolic utopia may actually prove to be too good to be true. In the Netflix preview, a televised advert for the ‘Prairie Sandwich’ seemed to take place in the park, suggesting that rather than enjoying the park’s animals in their natural habitat, your main goal might actually be to shoot them. If so, hunting will be an interesting addition to the game, and one that worked well in Red Dead Redemption 2 . Of course, players will probably be able to opt out of the bloodshed and just enjoy a nice stroll among the trees instead. Here’s hoping.

Inspiration: While there’s no one-for-one comp for Mount Kalaga National Park, the Southern US States in particular are well known for their stunning national parks. Fans think this one takes inspiration from North Carolina’s Table Rock Mountain, Georgia ’s Providence Canyon State Park, and the Suwannee River, which runs through Georgia and Florida. Whatever the real inspiration, if you are visiting Florida, it’s a reminder to get off the beaten path and out of the cities into lovingly preserved wild areas.