GTA 6: Six Potential Locations

As rumours surround GTA 6’s announcement gain steam, we’ve started imagining where the next instalment in the Grand Theft Auto series could be set.

I’m a huge fan of the Grand Theft Auto franchise.  I remember playing the demo for the original GTA on the original PlayStation with my best friend after school.  We’d replay that 5-minute demo endlessly from when we’d get in from school until it started getting dark.

Running over conga-lines of Elvis impersonators never got old.  (If that’s not in my FBI profile, it probably should be.)

GTA 5 has been an incredible success for Rockstar, with GTA Online helping the company to earn over $6 billion – more than any movie, ever.  The money-making potential of GTA Online has all-but killed off any hopes for single-player DLC, with updates tending to bring new modes and toys to purchase in the online component.

But, GTA V was originally released on September 17, 2013, designed to work on the Xbox 360 and PS3.  Imagine what Rockstar would be able to do with the next generation of technology.

While it’s hard to speculate about what exactly Rockstar have up their sleeves for GTA 6’s improved mechanics, we’ve put together a list of 6 locations we’d like to see Rockstar use for GTA 6.  Some are re-visiting locations we’ve enjoyed in older GTA titles, others are completely new locations.

Here are 6 potential locations for GTA 6:

1. London (Now, with 1969 DLC)

GTA has revisited Liberty City and San Andreas, but London remains an important part of the GTA history that remains untouched. London was used as the location of 1999’s Grand Theft Auto: London 1969, an expansion to the original GTA.

With a top-down perspective, the DLC added to the template created by the original, adding some famous landmarks and a classic taste of British entertainment ripped straight from classics like The Italian Job.

Watch Dogs: Legion is taking players to a fully-3D London, but Rockstar could use their impeccable writing and world-building to create something that would blow their competition out of the water.  It wouldn’t even need to be a true-to-life 1:1 copy of the British capital (though how awesome would that be?) – Rockstar is brilliant with creating reasonably sized locations that feel massive. Throw in a few famous locations, and the ability to snipe from the top of Big Ben, and we’ll have everything we need.

Rockstar would no doubt be tempted to go back to 1969 – after all, they’d get to use a bunch of the same bad gags, terrible interpretations of the accents, over-the-top fashion and, well, everything that makes that era so memorable and iconic.  But they could release that as a DLC (possibly forming a second GTA Online map), using the same streets but with a retro lick of paint.

2. Vice City (Now)

Vice City, based on Miami, took gamers back to 1986, creating the best Scarface game ever (even better than the Scarface game). I loved cruising through Vice City in my ice-white suit, open collar, hood down, speakers blaring out some Michael Jackson.

While it would be great to revisit in this era, it would also be great to visit, you know, today. Miami is a distinctly unique place, and one that struggles with its precarious balance of tourist hotpots, wealthy elite and crime.

It would be awesome to play a kingpin from the ’80s, who has just been released from prison, trying to reclaim his place in the city.

Los Santos has beaches lifted right from Los Angeles; Miami beaches would make equally beautiful backdrops in GTA 6. With ray-tracing and other modern technology, we could be getting our Sabres stuck in the most realistic sand ever.

And, as above, Rockstar could release a DLC that throws the world back into a retro-state from Vice City.

3. Russia: St. Petersberg/Moscow

Russia is a country steeped in history and with a distinctly different culture to the rest of the world. The snow in the opening stages of GTA V looked incredible and it would be a complete break from Los Santos to drive through Moscow under a layer of snow, building an empire of drugs, murder and vodka. Lots of vodka.

Let’s hope that Moscow is in better shape than in Metro 2033…

4. Far East/Tokyo/Hong Kong

Sleeping Dogs showing a rainy street in Hong Kong with a man standing in the rain.

So, the Yakuza franchise is based in Tokyo, Sleeping Dogs was based in Hong Kong…but, could Rockstar do it better?

China and Japan have their own culture and traditions, which could be brought into a whole new light with the GTA formula. You could play a fugitive immigrant trying to make his name in Tokyo, fresh from America. Struggling with the language barrier, racism and the lack of prospects, you turn to the only thing you know; crime.

It would be awesome to take the Yakuza on, rather than playing them.

5. Brazil: Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro

Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are beautiful cities with a serious crime issue.  The significantly different living conditions between wealthy individuals and those living in poverty has created a huge divide, one which could be exploited to dramatic effect in the Grand Theft Auto universe.

Rockstar did visit Sao Paulo in Max Payne 3, and the areas it displayed were absolutely mesmerizing.  Max Payne was limited to a fairly linear map, giving a striking but restricted view of the city.  Having the complete city of Sao Paolo to explore would be incredible.

Likewise, committing heinous criminal acts as you rise up the criminal hierarchy, all under the knowing gaze of the Christ the Redeemer statue, would be something else.

6. Paris

Paris; The City of Love. A truly beautiful city, with a mixture of modern and historical structures similar to London. Wide highways give way to narrow side streets and cramped alleyways; the perfect setting for a getaway following a high-speed pursuit.

It is hard to explain the aura of Paris without taking you there in person (one day, I promise), but the picture-perfect French capital would be an amazing location for a Grand Theft Auto video game. Throw in some references to real-world events gripping every city in Europe, increasing forced migration, immigration and the threat of terrorism, and Paris could become a very sinister bed for the action to follow.

So, where would you like to see Rockstar take Grand Theft Auto 6?