As a fan of the Grand Theft Auto games, I have always loved the number of different locations we have gone through. Whether it is the neon-drenched Vice City or San Andreas’ pale and gritty setting, we have seen plenty of cities over the last 27 years in GTA games. With GTA 6 taking place in Leonida State and Vice City, we thought to sit down and revisit memory lane. So, join us for this ride as we go through all GTA game locations and list out every setting we loved.
Where Do All The GTA Games Take Place?
In the table below, we have mentioned all the base GTA games, their spin-offs, and locations. We have avoided DLCs for specific games in the same area as the base game. For instance, the GTA 3 games and GTA 3 DLCs take place in Liberty City.
Moreover, as of now, we only know that GTA 6 will take place in Leonida and that Vice City will play a major role. We will update the table as soon as we have more updates about the upcoming GTA sequel. Now, without further ado, let’s begin:
| Game | Location | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Theft Auto | Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City | 1997 |
| Grand Theft Auto 2 | Anywhere City | 1999 |
| GTA: London | London | 1999 |
| Grand Theft Auto 3 | Liberty City | 2001 |
| GTA: Vice City | Vice City | 2002 |
| GTA: San Andreas | San Andreas | 2004 |
| Grand Theft Auto Advance | Liberty City | 2004 |
| GTA: Liberty City Stories | Liberty City | 2005 |
| GTA: Vice City Stories | Vice City | 2006 |
| Grand Theft Auto 4 | Liberty City | 2008 |
| GTA: Chinatown Wars | Liberty City | 2009 |
| Grand Theft Auto 5 | San Andreas, Los Santos | 2013 |
| Grand Theft Auto 6 | Leonida, Vice City | 2025 |
All Iconic GTA City Locations till GTA 6
If you notice all the Grand Theft Auto game locations and settings, most of them occur in some of the common iconic cities. Apart from the Anywhere City of GTA 2, all the locations take inspiration from a real-life city or state. Here are all the iconic city locations you see in Grand Theft Auto games:
1. Liberty City
You can tell Rockstar Games loves Liberty City by just glancing at our table and finding that six GTA games took place in Liberty City. Well, there can be one apparent reason; it is the interpretation of the real-life New York, and as we all know “In New York, you can be a new man.” With almost most of our protagonists from this coveted franchise wandering in the city, trying to achieve their dream goals, Liberty City maintains its iconic status.
It is situated in the fictional state of Liberty (a stand-in for New York State), and likely shares its state with parodies of other New York cities. Its capital status remains unconfirmed, mirroring New York City’s non-capital status in its real-world counterpart. New Guernsey, a location in the original GTA, parodied several New Jersey cities.
Later, Grand Theft Auto 4 featured Alderney, a state representing New Jersey but scaled to a borough-like size within the Liberty City metropolitan area, incorporating parodied New Jersey locales. Despite going through changes over the decades, the New York-inspired Grand Theft Auto location keeps its own identity.
2. San Andreas
My first impression of San Andreas city was this huge, gritty, warm-toned replica of the USA’s West Coast. But the game I played was not the debut for this iconic GTA city. San Andreas was initially introduced as the San Francisco, California, impersonation in the first GTA game.
However, in GTA: San Andreas, Rockstar added more locations to replicate the real-life states of California and Nevada. So, instead of a city, San Andreas represented more of the full state, which later introduced us to the city of Los Santos and Blaine County, where most of GTA 5 took place.
3. Vice City
Let us all be honest; do you call the city of Miami by its name anymore? Well, if you don’t, then Vice City has a major involvement in it. Rockstar Games not only replicated the city of Miami, Florida, but it also added every essence of the neon-drenched streets, the flair of the beaches, and the chaotic neighborhoods in Vice City.
Well, in the 2D Universe, Vice City replicates a city based in the Southeastern United States. However, things changed when Rockstar Games went all in with GTA: Vice City. It introduced Vice City as the representation of Miami, located in Florida. While we get everything about real-life Miami in this GTA location, there is no conclusive mention of the state to which Vice City belongs.
That might change with the GTA 6 map. In the GTA 6 first trailer, Rockstar Games showed us a glimpse of the Leonida State Police. This means that Vice City in GTA 6 will be part of a bigger state, surrounded by other cities and islands.
4. London
As you can see, it is literally in the name; London was introduced as a map in Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 and Grand Theft Auto: London 1961. While most GTA game locations take inspiration from and avoid using the original name, London was different.
Moreover, a Manchester multiplayer map was added later in the game. Hopefully, Rockstar Games does more GTA games based on locations outside of the U.S.
5. Anywhere City
Moving on from the real-life location inspirations, Rockstar did something different in GTA 2. The fictional setting of Grand Theft Auto 2 is Anywhere City, deliberately unnamed within the game. Set shortly after the original GTA, it lacks resemblance to any specific real-world location. With Anywhere City, Rockstar tried a different take on its original plans for the real location replicas.
The city is geographically divided into three distinct zones: Commercial, Residential, and Industrial. While initially featuring only roadways and footpaths, a light rail transit system was later added in the PC versions. Fortunately, Rockstar completely dropped this type of map after this edition.
These are all the GTA game locations we have seen over the years in the game. Which city or state is your favorite Grand Theft Auto location? Do tell us in the comments below.
