Should GTA 6 have multiple open-world maps for exploration?

One of the biggest topics for debate within the GTA community has always been the possibility for the games to include multiple open-world areas. This idea has been explored by several games in the past, most notably in The Witcher 3, with there being multiple open-world hubs for the player to explore.

While it can be incredibly challenging, it opens up a lot of possibilities for devs to experiment with the game design. Most noticeably, it gives players a wide variety of areas to explore with their own topographical or even cultural identity and diversity.

For the most part, GTA has elected to give players a sizeable open-world map with multiple cities open to players. In a rather welcome surprise, Rockstar threw an astounding curveball with the Cayo Perico Heist update for GTA Online, which included a separate mini open-world location.

Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the opinion of the writer.

---

Does having multiple open-world locations benefit GTA 6?

The island of Cayo Perico is off the coast of Los Santos and can only be traveled to through the use of the Kosatka Submarine. For all intents and purposes, Cayo Perico isn't part of the Los Santos and Blaine County map and exists separately.

There is no means for the player to travel to Cayo Perico, say using a plane or a boat that they find in Los Santos. This essentially makes the island an open-world map onto itself as opposed to being a map extension for Los Santos in GTA Online.

In contrast to an expansion, it feels a lot more rewarding creatively and is a far more exciting prospect to travel to a country that is not the United States. A while ago, several reports and rumors of "Project AMERICAS" made their way onto the internet and gained massive traction.

It eluded to the idea of there being locations present in GTA 6 outside of the US, possibly South America. This led many to theorize that perhaps another city could exist in GTA 6 separate from the main open-world map as another map entirely.

Project AMERICAS and the possibility of multiple open-world locations

The idea is particularly exciting in a way that GTA has rarely ever ventured out of the States, given its deeply-rooted identity in that of satire of the country. While it is true London was a location previously explored in an expansion, it is far from being anything too substantial creatively.

Project AMERICAS, on the other hand, is massively exciting. Purely because technology seems to have caught up with Rockstar's ambition, and this could be their opportunity to deliver the definitive GTA experience.

Many are hedging their bets on GTA 6, combining all previous locations (Liberty City, Vice City, and San Andreas) into one giant map. While it doesn't make much sense geographically how three islands could exist in one cohesive location, multiple open-world hubs could solve that problem.

Air Travel is an option previously explored by Rockstar in GTA San Andreas and could make a return in the near future. Allowing players to travel to and from different open-world hubs is not only a technological marvel but also opens up creative avenues to explore.

For example, should the character need to lay low after committing a series of crimes, perhaps traveling to another city could be an option. While it could easily mess with the pacing, Rockstar isn't opposed to the idea of throwing a spanner in the machine during the story. This is evidenced by their love for exiling player characters during the story in a bid to switch up the pacing in GTA games.