GTA 6 vs GTA 5: what's different, and how sure we are

Why the map figures don’t line up

The table gives three size comparisons with GTA 5, and they measure different things: the whole map, one city, and the built-up areas outside that city. So the largest multiple doesn’t describe the game as a whole. Rockstar hasn’t published an area, and this kind of comparison can mislead: Game Informer’s 2013 preview of GTA 5 counted underwater areas in one of its figures. Our GTA 6 map page sets out each statement and who made it.

Don’t read the radio rows as a score

It’s tempting to set GTA 5’s station count against GTA 6’s, but the six stations are only what Rockstar has shown so far, and it presents them as a sample. “Largest and broadest” is Rockstar’s own claim, and nobody can check it until the full list is out.

The score is a simpler change. GTA 5’s was the series’ first original score, with four credited artists, and GTA 6’s comes from one act. There’s more on our soundtrack page.

GTA Online isn’t part of GTA 6

GTA Online belongs to GTA 5, and no online mode has been announced for GTA 6. “A single-player experience” doesn’t rule one out later, and Take-Two’s comment on spending covers launch only. We follow this on our online mode page.

What changes for players in Saudi Arabia and the UAE

For Gulf players, the biggest change may be access rather than anything in the game. GTA 5 took years to arrive officially, while GTA 6 arrives with everyone else, though without Arabic. GTA Online’s casino features were reportedly disabled in Saudi Arabia, and nobody has said whether anything in GTA 6 will change there. See our pages on age ratings and availability in other Arab countries.

What we can’t compare yet

We haven’t played GTA 6, so this page gives no view on which game is better, how it drives or how its missions feel. The system rows describe what Rockstar has shown or told the press, and the finished game may differ. For the numbers behind our estimate, see how long GTA 6 is. For the console picture, see GTA 6 frame rates.

What we’ll add after launch

We’ll fill in the blanks from sources we can credit: mission structure, real frame rates, how the story length compares with GTA 5, and any online mode. We still won’t add gameplay opinions of our own.