GTA V came out in 2013 and is still one of the most played games on the planet, with more than 230 million copies sold. GTA VI has a huge legacy to beat. So what is actually different? We only use confirmed facts here, and we keep the unknowns in their own list.
Side by side: the quick comparison
| GTA V | GTA VI | |
|---|---|---|
| Setting | Los Santos, state of San Andreas | Vice City, state of Leonida |
| Protagonists | 3 – Michael, Franklin and Trevor | 2 – Lucia Caminos and Jason Duval |
| Release | September 17, 2013 | November 19, 2026 |
| Platforms | PS3 and Xbox 360 first, later PS4, Xbox One, PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S | PS5 and Xbox Series X|S |
| Price | Out since 2013 | Standard $79.99, Ultimate $99.99 |
| Online at launch | GTA Online arrived October 1, 2013 | No online mode announced |
| PC | April 14, 2015 (Enhanced: March 4, 2025) | Not announced |
From three heroes to two
GTA V's big idea was switching between three criminals. GTA VI goes with a duo: Lucia Caminos, who has just come out of the Leonida Penitentiary, and Jason Duval, an Army veteran working for drug runners in the Keys. Their story is about two partners trying to build a better life and getting pulled deeper into crime.
Fewer heroes could mean a tighter, more personal story, but how switching (if any) works has not been explained. Meet the full cast in our GTA 6 characters guide.
From Los Santos to Leonida
GTA V's San Andreas mixed a big city with deserts, mountains and the countryside. GTA VI swaps the West Coast for Leonida, Rockstar's fictional Florida. Vice City is its biggest city, and the revealed regions include the Leonida Keys, Grassrivers, Port Gellhorn, Ambrosia and Mount Kalaga National Park.
How big is the map compared to GTA V? Nobody knows. Rockstar has not given a size, so any "X times bigger" claim is a guess. See the revealed places in our map and locations guide.
Confirmed new things in GTA VI
Thanks to two trailers, the 26-minute "Extended Look" from August 27, 2026, and the Game Informer #382 cover story, we know a lot more than a year ago.
From the Extended Look
- Slow-motion aiming in gunfights
- Scuba diving under Leonida's waters
- Fan boats for the swamps
- Store robberies, racing and parachuting
- Vice City shown by day and night
- A morality-style reward system
From Game Informer #382
- Weather, a relationship system and a reputation system
- Heists, skydiving and basketball
Some of these ideas will feel familiar to GTA V fans. What is new is how they connect to systems like reputation and relationships, which we will only fully see in November. Read the full breakdown in our Extended Look recap.
Price, editions and launch plan
GTA VI costs $79.99 for the Standard Edition and $99.99 for the Ultimate Edition. Pre-orders opened on June 25, 2026, and every pre-order gets the Vintage Vice City Pack with a '55 Vapid Stanier, the Shore Court Garage and outfits. You can pre-load from November 12. Physical copies contain a download code, not a disc.
Full details are in our editions and price guide.
Online and PC: the two biggest differences
GTA Online arrived just two weeks after GTA V's launch, and it became a giant of its own. For GTA VI, no online mode has been announced for launch. GTA Online for GTA V continues as before. Follow updates on our GTA 6 Online page.
On PC, history repeats. GTA V reached PC in 2015, about a year and a half after the console launch. GTA VI has no PC version announced. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said "Rockstar always starts on console", so PC players will have to wait. More on GTA 6 on PC.
Still unknown
- Map size compared to GTA V
- File size – fake numbers are circulating, ignore them
- Online mode – if and when it comes
- PC release date
- Cheat codes – nothing announced, see Will GTA 6 have cheats?
- How the reputation and morality-style systems work in detail
Until launch, GTA V is still the place to be. Need a refresher on its story? Read our GTA 5 story recap, or jump into a GTA RP server right now.
