Is Leonida based on Florida?

Yes, in all but name. Rockstar calls it 'the sunshine state', its regions mirror places like the Keys and the Everglades, and outlets such as GamesRadar and PC Gamer describe it as Rockstar's version of Florida.

Is Vice City the same as Leonida?

No. Vice City is the best-known city, and Leonida is the whole state around it, including islands, wetlands, small towns and a northern national landmark.

What Is Leonida? GTA 6's Fictional Florida Explained

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Long straight road across flat marsh and palms toward a city skyline at sunset, in indigo and magenta

Leonida is GTA 6's fictional version of Florida, with Vice City as its best-known city and six regions named by Rockstar.

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Leonida is the state GTA 6 is set in

Leonida is the fictional US state where GTA 6 takes place, and Vice City is its best-known city. Rockstar's synopsis for the game opens with 'Vice City, USA' and describes Jason and Lucia caught 'in the middle of a criminal conspiracy stretching across the state of Leonida'. Rockstar's 'Only in Leonida' pages call it 'the sunshine state' and invite players to tour 'a few of the must-see destinations' across it.

So Leonida is the umbrella name and Vice City is one place inside it. GamesRadar points out that this is a first for Vice City: the map now stretches well past the city limits, into a whole state.

Leonida is Rockstar's Florida

Rockstar never names Florida, but the parallel is plain, and outlets spell it out. GamesRadar puts it this way: just as San Andreas was Rockstar's name for California in GTA 5, Leonida is its name for the Sunshine State. PC Gamer calls Leonida 'Florida-inspired'.

GamesRadar's main clue was the 'Leonida Man' gag in the first trailer, which includes a social media account called 'ProjectLeonidaMan' and a scrolling headline about a 'Leonida man sucked up in waterspout'. It is a riff on the 'Florida Man' meme about the state's strange news stories. The same trailer shows road signs pointing to the Keys and to a 'Kelly County', more hints that the map reaches well beyond the city.

The six regions of Leonida

Rockstar's 'Only in Leonida' pages name six areas, each with a short description of its own:

Vice City: 'still the sun and fun capital of America', with Ocean Beach, Little Cuba, the Tisha-Wocka flea market and the VC Port, 'the cruise ship capital of the world'.
Leonida Keys: a 'tropical archipelago' where life 'isn't flashy but it's easy', on the doorstep of 'some of the most beautiful and dangerous waters in all of America'.
Grassrivers: 'the untamable jewel of Leonida's crown', a 'primordial expanse' of mangroves where the gators are not the deadliest predators.
Port Gellhorn: 'Leonida's forgotten coast', a once-popular holiday spot of cheap motels, shut-down attractions and empty strip malls.
Ambrosia: the industrial heart of the state, where the Allied Crystal sugar refinery provides the jobs and a local biker gang 'provides almost everything else'.
Mount Kalaga: 'a national landmark up against the state's northern border', with hunting, fishing and off-road trails.

Smaller places Rockstar has named

Beyond the six regions, Rockstar's pages mention other locations around the state. The Ultimate Edition page refers to a garage in Watson Bay, a boat docked at Washington Beach for fishing trips in Gambit Bay, shops in Stockyard, a mod shop in Lake Leonida and a gang compound in Southside Vice City. The pre-order bonus includes a garage by Ocean Beach.

The character profiles add the Leonida Penitentiary, where Lucia Caminos ended up after 'fighting for her family'. Jason Duval 'found himself in the Keys' working for local drug runners after a stint in the Army. Liberty City appears only as part of Lucia's past: her mum has dreamed of the good life 'since their days in Liberty City'.

How Rockstar uses the name

Rockstar pairs the two names throughout its marketing. The 'Only in Leonida' section opens with 'Home to the neon-soaked streets of Vice City and beyond', and the merchandise leans on the state as much as the city. The Vice City Collection, a limited-edition collector's box, includes a Leonida Keys crossbody bag, a Leonida Keys enamel pin set and a double-sided poster with the Leonida map. It also features Macca the Gator, a character from a TV show inside the game's world.

What is not confirmed

Rockstar has not published the size of Leonida or a map with exact region boundaries. The figures in circulation come from a YouTuber's account of a studio preview, covered in our map size article. Rockstar has also not said whether any other state can be visited.

GTA 6 launches on 19 November 2026 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. No PC version has been announced at the time of writing (October 2026).

official screenshots

Screenshots: Rockstar Games, from the official GTA VI media page.

Sources

What is Leonida in GTA 6?

The fictional US state where GTA 6 is set. Vice City is its main city, and Rockstar names six regions inside it: Vice City, Leonida Keys, Grassrivers, Port Gellhorn, Ambrosia and Mount Kalaga.