Leonida: Every Place Rockstar Has Named in GTA VI

Last checked: Oct 11 2026.

Leonida is the fictional state where Grand Theft Auto VI takes place. Rockstar calls it "the Goodtime State" and, on its own site, "the sunshine state." Vice City is its big city. Fan maps of Leonida are everywhere, and many mix in unofficial material, so we do not use them. This page lists only the places Rockstar itself has named, quotes or paraphrases what Rockstar says about each one, and then asks a narrow question: which real Florida place does it echo, and who says so?

At a glance

What is counted, and how

We counted every named place in three Rockstar-controlled texts: the six region panels and the character profiles on the Only in Leonida page, the Ultimate Edition copy on the PlayStation Store (written by Rockstar), and the Oct 8 2026 radio post on the Newswire. Brand names (Grotti, Vapid) and shops (Rideout Customs, Stock 305) are out. A garage and a refinery stay in, because Rockstar uses them as locations. Liberty City is out too: it appears only in Lucia's backstory, and nothing says it is in Leonida.

For each place, the "real-world echo" column follows one rule. If Rockstar or a major outlet draws the comparison, we name them. If nobody has, but the link seems obvious to us, we say so and mark it our observation. That means it is our reading, not a fact.

Two outside statements anchor the Florida link. Rockstar North's Rob Nelson, quoted in Dazed's Aug 27 2026 cover-story release, said Florida and Miami have "one of the most diverse and interesting populations in the world," and called that "one of the reasons we chose Vice City and Leonida as the setting." Game Informer's Sep 29 2026 cover story calls Florida Leonida's "real-world inspiration."

The six regions

Rockstar posted the region copy on May 6 2025, the same day as Trailer 2, according to Game Informer's report that day. The table gives Rockstar's tagline for each region, the gist of its description, and the echo.

Rockstar's page heads the panel "Mount Kalaga." Game Informer and GamesRadar call it Mount Kalaga National Park.

Every smaller place Rockstar has named

That is 15 named places. Rockstar's copy also places people and things in the regions themselves:

• Jason worked for drug runners in "the Keys," where Brian Heder still runs his boat yard.
• The Ultimate Edition's Dominator Buggy is pitched for "the backwoods of Mount Kalaga."
• Back Country Radio broadcasts "to the Grassrivers, Port Gellhorn, and beyond," and its reporter, Mud Dog Mike, files from a Grassrivers airboat.
• Flash FM is "the Vice City institution."

How the real-world echoes break down:

• Sourced by an outlet: Ocean Beach and Little Cuba. GamesRadar calls them neighborhoods that returning players "will instantly recognize." See Vice City for the 2002 version. A note on that quote: Ocean Beach was a 2002 district, but the 2002 game's district was Little Havana, not Little Cuba, per GamesRadar's own Vice City package guide. Little Cuba is not in that 2002 list.
• Our observation:
  • Ocean Beach's art deco hotels suggest Miami Beach.
  • Little Cuba suggests Miami's Little Havana.
  • "Cruise ship capital of the world" is close to the slogan PortMiami uses for itself.
  • Lake Leonida suggests Lake Okeechobee.
  • The Vercetti name ties back to Tommy Vercetti.
  • Ocean Beach, Washington Beach and Flash FM are names from the 2002 game. Rockstar's own radio post calls Flash FM a Vice City "institution."

Why the map matters more than its size

Most "GTA 6 map" pages lead with size. We cannot: Rockstar has not published a number. The more useful thing to see is the spread. Rockstar's six regions run from a dense, glamorous city to a declining coast, a one-industry farm town and a northern wilderness. The copy is blunt about the economics. Ambrosia is about "the battle for the health and wealth of Leonida." Port Gellhorn runs on painkillers. The Keys are casual and close to dangerous water.

Compare that with GTA V, which Rockstar sells as "Los Santos and Blaine County," a city plus its countryside (see San Andreas state). The 2002 GTA Vice City was a city on its own. Our reading: Leonida is the first time Vice City has had a whole state around it.

Reported, not on a Rockstar page

These claims come from outlets. They are not on any Rockstar page we opened, so we treat them as unconfirmed.

Trivia

• The Goodtime State has its own "hit TV show character," Macca the Gator, who inspires the Ultimate Edition's Goodtime Gear clothing.
• Rockstar dates Brian Heder, Jason's landlord, to "the golden age of smuggling in the Keys."
• Back Country Radio's reporter Mud Dog Mike is also its "swamp meteorologist," per Rockstar.

Sources

• Rockstar Games, Only in Leonida, checked Oct 11 2026
• Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto VI site, checked Oct 11 2026
• PlayStation Store, Grand Theft Auto VI, checked Oct 11 2026
• Rockstar Newswire, In-Game Radio Stations, Oct 8 2026
• Game Informer, Six Major Areas, May 6 2025
• Game Informer, Over 170 Animal Species, Sep 29 2026
• Game Informer, Tropical Storms And Hurricanes, Sep 29 2026
• Dazed Studio on LBB, Dazed cover story release, Aug 27 2026
• PC Gamer, Charting the GTA 6 map, updated Aug 18 2026
• GamesRadar, Every GTA 6 location revealed, updated Sep 30 2026
• GamesRadar, The GTA 6 trailer is here a day early, Dec 4 2023
• GamesRadar+, Iain Wilson, GTA Vice City hidden packages, updated Aug 17 2022
• VICE, GTA 6 map size, Aug 28 2026
• GTA VI Forum fact base (FACTS.md), compiled Oct 11 2026