Since its initial release in 1997, the Grand Theft Auto franchise has cemented itself as one of the greatest video game series, both critically and commercially. In a recent interview with CNBC, Take-Two Interactive (parent company of Rockstar Games) CEO Strauss Zelnick revealed that Grand Theft Auto V sold about 20 million copies in 2020, the most copies sold in a calendar year since its 2013 release.
Rockstar's titular franchise takes place either on the West or East Coast in cities that are representations of real locations. Liberty City resembles New York City, Vice City is a carbon copy of Miami, and the state of San Andreas that contains the city of Los Santos is actually California and Los Angeles. All of the locations in Grand Theft Auto consist of incredible realism with a high level of detail. Certain entries in the franchise possess more realism than others, but what about the sheer size of each environment? Typically size doesn't matter, but after cruising through Vinewood for what seems like an eternity it might be a good idea to know just how vast each terrain is in Grand Theft Auto.
5 GTA 3 - Liberty City (8.12 sq km)
Grand Theft Auto 3 was a monumental title right out the gate when it was released in 2001 as the first three-dimensional game of the franchise. Following the exploits of the main character Claude, GTA 3 is set in Liberty City. Loosely based on New York City, Liberty City also contains similarities with Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Baltimore, and Detroit. Liberty City is divided into three main sections: Portland, Staunton Island, and Shoreside Vale. Measuring at 8.12 square kilometers, Liberty City is the smallest world map in the franchise. It's no wonder the city's motto is "the worst place in America."
4 GTA Vice City - Vice City (9.11 sq km)
Sitting at 9.11 square kilometers, Vice City isn't much bigger than Liberty City. It's split into two main chunks: the Mainland and Vice Beach. Each area contains several individual districts, as well as featuring two main beaches. Resembling Miami, Grand Theft Auto Vice City was certainly an upgrade over GTA 3 in the visuals department.
Vice City features vibrant colors, palm trees, and (mostly) clear, blue skies. But the similarities with Miami don't stop there. Heavily influenced by the crime drama television show, Rockstar placed many Miami Vice Easter Eggs throughout the game. If Tommy Vercetti gets three stars, a pair of undercover cops based on Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs try to bust him. Also, the actor who portrayed Tubbs in the show was the voice actor for Vercetti's partner in crime, Lance Vance.
3 GTA 4 - Liberty City and Alderney (16.14 sq km)
Making its return from GTA 3, Liberty City is back and better than ever. Rockstar's decision to return to Liberty City allowed the developer to expand the world map to include Alderney, which is based on New Jersey.
While Liberty City is still mostly urban terrain, northern Alderney becomes a bit more wild-like with its natural environment. By broadening the map, GTA 4's iteration of Liberty City nearly doubles GTA 3 measuring at 16.14 square kilometers.
2 GTA San Andreas - San Andreas (38.2 sq km)
Many GTA fans would attest that not only is San Andreas the best game of the franchise, but the best game ever on the PlayStation 2. Something not as debatable is how profitable San Andreas was and how massive the map was. By selling a little over 17 million copies since 20004, San Andreas is the best-selling PS2 game of all time.
The game map of San Andreas checks out at 38.2 square kilometers, which upon release, was the largest three-dimensional map ever made. The design of San Andreas was heavily influenced by the state of California. It holds three major cities, multiple airports, and wide stretches of mountains mixed in with the city terrain.
1 GTA 5 - Los Santos (75.84 sq km)
The second reused location in the series, Los Santos returns with much more to offer this time around. Previously featured as one of the three main cities in San Andreas, Los Santos was rebuilt and more fully developed in GTA 5. With a measurement of 75.84 square kilometers, Los Santos completely dominates San Andreas as the biggest Grand Theft Auto world map. GTA 5 would hold the title of the largest open-world map ever made by Rockstar, until the developer's other major franchise sequel, Red Dead Redemption 2, was released.
Los Santos is loosely based on the city of Los Angeles. Los Santos translated from Spanish means "The Saints", which is a play on words for "The Angels", or Los Angeles translated. The amount of detail in creating the various cities, farmlands, towns, and other landmarks elevated the player's experience and truly made Los Santos special. Tremendous amounts of realism brought Los Santos to life in more ways than one, which might be why GTA 5 continues to hold a ridiculously high player base. Ultimately, Los Santos remains one of the biggest world maps out there, and GTA 5 will forever be in contention for the greatest video game of all time.