GTA 6 Open World Update Has Us Hyped, but Its Increased Size Worries Me

Grand Theft Auto VI launches this year, hopefully, and it’s going to be the biggest game Rockstar has ever made.

For the longest time now, Rockstar Games has been known as the king of gaming open worlds.

With games like Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2 on its repertoire, it’s hard to believe GTA VI will be anything short of a masterpiece, especially as it’s been made for new-gen consoles.

Fans have attempted to recreate GTA VI’s open-world through the limited amount of footage we have of it, and the results have shown it's leagues bigger than the previous game. Even Red Dead Redemption 2 is presumably being left in the dust.

However when I look at these depictions of what GTA VI’s map could look like, it fills me with just as much dread as it does excitement. I have the uttermost faith in Rockstar to deliver yet another banger but the question has to be asked: how much is too much?

The latest mapping projects place GTA VI’s map as around two or three times bigger than GTA V, and while I adored the fifth Grand Theft Auto game as much as everyone else, its open world did leave me wanting a bit more. Los Santos is hustling and bustling but as you leave the city, you quickly run out of things to do, as a large portion of the map was empty terrain.

Rockstar Games

In comparison, Red Dead Redemption 2 should have felt even worse as you were crossing its gargantuan map on horseback rather than in a car or plane, but it’s helped along by picturesque views and the occasional random encounter on the roads.

Now GTA VI potentially sporting a bigger map is exciting but I do worry it’s going to repeat the sins of the past, and feature large expanses of land that are simply not worth exploring. Like GTA V, I’d imagine Vice City and its surrounding towns will be heavily populated with side-quests, activities and interesting NPCs but going further afield could border on tedium, essentially being filler as you drive to and fro during the main story.

Obviously I’m just speculating here, and again, I have faith that GTA VI is going to be a masterpiece, especially since Rockstar hasn’t been afraid to delay the game to ultimately deliver a better product.

However, I am concerned that a bigger map doesn’t automatically mean a better map, and I’m interested to see how Rockstar balances quantity with quality this time around.