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The Grand Theft Auto World is a fictional world containing the settings or otherwise-mentioned locations of all the Grand Theft Auto games (for example, Liberty City, Vice City, Carcer City, and the State of San Andreas). It is assumed that the rest of the real world exists within the fictional world, although possibly without some of the major cities to which the GTA locations are analogous (Liberty City/state of Liberty may replace New York City/New York State, for example). Continuity is generally retained throughout the games pertaining to the specific "universe" that the game is a part of, creating a coherent fictional universe.

A map selection screen in the first Grand Theft Auto game reveals that the contemporary renditions of Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City are located in or near New York, California, and Florida respectively. It is unclear whether these locations are canon with the rest of the series; however, it is known that Vice City is located in the state of Florida.

Furthermore, during one mission in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the player could fly a plane eastwards and arrive, after a cutscene, in Liberty City. This relationship is similar to the real-world geographical placing of the states of California and Nevada (upon which San Andreas is based) to New York (upon which Liberty City is based). This does involve crossing a vast body of water, but bodies of water are used to isolate game-worlds in the GTA series, and do not necessarily indicate that these game-worlds are truly islands. A worldmap that can be found in Grand Theft Auto V suggests that the sea level in the GTA world has increased significantly, suggesting that the islands are formed by the rising sea.

In between game "universes", the recurring locations of GTA are represented very differently. Liberty City appeared in Grand Theft Auto and GTA III with almost no similarities other than that they were both broadly based on New York City. Liberty City retained continuity throughout the 3D Universe (compare GTA III's rendition to that of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Grand Theft Auto Advance); however, Grand Theft Auto IV marked the beginning of a new "universe", and started a new continuity while introducing a new, more realistic rendition of Liberty City.

Liberty City[]

New LC

Liberty City in Grand Theft Auto IV.

Liberty City, based on New York City, is a location that has appeared in Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto Advance, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. Liberty City is a large city (with a population of four million in GTA III and eight million in GTA IV) and features extensive road and railway transport links, and is located on a geographical configuration of shorelines and islands, similar to that of New York City. The city has high crime and corruption rates, with organized crime, feuding street gangs, petty criminals, and rampant misconduct among city officials and law enforcement commonplace. The city has the highest crime statistics in the United States and has repeatedly been voted as "The Worst Place In America".

Liberty City is located in the State of Liberty. It is possible that the other cities in the state of New York exist in the state of Liberty, but it is unknown if Liberty City is the state capital.

See: Liberty City
Liberty City (2D Universe)
Liberty City (3D Universe)
Liberty City (HD Universe)

New Guernsey/Alderney[]

Alderney City Skyline

Alderney City in Grand Theft Auto IV.

New Guernsey, based on New Jersey, is a state that appeared in Grand Theft Auto. It consists of Guernsey City (based on Jersey City), Fort Law (Fort Lee), Schlechberg (Gutenberg), Hackenslash (Hackensack) and Eaglewood (Englewood).

In Grand Theft Auto IV, New Jersey reappears, alongside Liberty City, and has been renamed Alderney. Alderney contains neighborhoods that are based on different cities and regions in New Jersey, such as Weehawken, Englewood, Jersey City, Newark, Kearny, and Elizabeth, among others.

Although both New Guernsey and Alderney are separate states, it appears to be the size of a borough and is treated as a borough of Liberty City, with the LCPD regularly seen patrolling the area in both renditions.

The Carraways[]

The Carraways, based on The Hamptons, is a location only mentioned through the events of GTA IV and GTA V. It was originally supposed to be included in GTA IV, as was the rest of Liberty State. However, the producers decided to just leave the location at Liberty City, to make the game focus more on its gameplay rather than the size of its map.

Vice City[]

NeonVice

Vice City

Vice City is a city that has appeared in Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories and the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI. It is based on Miami, Florida, and the Florida Keys. In the 2D Universe, it is shown to be a large coastal city connected to the mainland United States. In the 3D Universe, however, it consists of two major islands, each divided into several districts, and six smaller islands, with both main islands separated by a large body of water similar to that of Biscayne Bay (separating Miami Beach from mainland Miami). The population of Vice City is given as around 1.8 million. The city has no railway or rapid transit systems, with the islands connected by road and pedestrian bridges.

In the 3D Universe, it has been confirmed to be in the real state of Florida, rather than a fictional state like Liberty and San Andreas. Unlike its 2D Universe counterpart, it does not completely replace the city of Miami, such as how Liberty City replaces New York City, due to references to the city appearing in both GTA III and GTA Vice City. In the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI, however, Vice City replaces Miami once again, and is located in the State of Leonida, the HD Universe equivalent of Florida.

See: Vice City
Vice City in 2D Universe
Vice City in 3D Universe
Vice City in HD Universe

San Andreas[]

San Andreas, which is intended to be based in the West Coast of the United States, has appeared as two different entities in the Grand Theft Auto series of video games:

2D Universe[]

In the original Grand Theft Auto, San Andreas is a single city based on the city of San Francisco, California.

3D Universe[]

In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, San Andreas reappears as a state based on the American states of California and Nevada. The State of San Andreas incorporates three cities (Los Santos, San Fierro and Las Venturas) and five counties (Red County, Flint County, Whetstone, Tierra Robada and Bone County). San Andreas is a series of large islands surrounded by water, but connected by a series of bridges. Details of this incarnation are as follows:

LosSantosSunrise

Los Santos

Los Santos is the largest city in San Andreas. It is based on the city of Los Angeles, California, and is bordered by Red County to the north and Flint County to the west.

SanFierro-GTASA-SeenFromTierraRobada

View of San Fierro from Tierra Robada.

San Fierro is the smallest city in San Andreas, based on San Francisco, California. San Fierro is located in the western part of San Andreas. South of the city lies the massive Mount Chiliad, and to the north lies the county of Tierra Robada. San Fierro Bay lies to the north, and The Panopticon to the east.

LasVenturas-GTASA-Skyline

Las Venturas

Las Venturas is based on Las Vegas, Nevada. Like its real life counterpart, Las Venturas is a gambling city located in the desert region. The city is also notable for its sizeable freeway system.

In addition to the three cities, there are thirteen small towns in the State of San Andreas: Palomino Creek, Montgomery, Dillimore, Blueberry, Angel Pine, El Quebrados, Bayside, Las Barrancas, Fort Carson, Las Payasadas, Valle Ocultado, and two ghost towns: Aldea Malvada and Las Brujas.

HD Universe[]

San Andreas does not physically appear in Grand Theft Auto IV, but like Vice City, it is referenced heavily. Los Santos, San Fierro, and Red County are all mentioned to exist. Las Brujas also appears in an advertisement for Spittoon. While Las Venturas is featured in the TV show Venturas Poker Challenge, it is displayed on a map and shown to be located not in San Andreas like in the 3D Universe, but rather in a different state, likely based on Nevada. Additionally, Bone County, also part of San Andreas in the 3D Universe, is located in this unnamed state.[1]

Downtown Los Santos (V)

Los Santos

In Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online, San Andreas is a large state subdivided into two counties: Los Santos County and Blaine County. Within Los Santos County is the city, Los Santos, and many other small towns and neighborhoods. Like its 3D Universe counterpart, San Andreas is a large island surrounded by the Pacific Ocean on all sides. The in-game area does not represent the entire state, and is referred to as "Southern San Andreas" by Rockstar, with San Fierro, Red County, and Flint County existing in a northern portion of the state not featured in the game. Details of this incarnation are as follows:

Chumash North

Chumash

Los Santos as in the 3D Universe, is based on Los Angeles, California. It is the biggest city in southern San Andreas, and is bordered by Los Santos County to the north and east, and the Pacific Ocean to the south and west.

SandyShores-GTAV-nextgen

Sandy Shores

Chumash is based on Malibu, California. It is a wealthy city with an above average life style. It borders the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Tongva Valley to the east.

Grapeseed-GTAV-OosAansig

Grapeseed

Sandy Shores is based on the town of Desert Shores, California. It is a small, poor and desolate town, bordered by the Alamo Sea to the north and the Senora Desert to the south.

PaletoBay-GTAV-Aerial

Paleto Bay

Grapeseed is based on Grapevine, California. It is a small rural town dedicated to agriculture and labor. It is bordered by Mount Chiliad to the north, the Alamo Sea to the south, and the San Chianski Mountain Range to the east.

Paleto Bay is based on Fillmore, California and is the smallest city in San Andreas. It is very isolated, but still more developed than other towns in Blaine County. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the north and Mount Chiliad to the south.

See: San Andreas
San Andreas in 2D Universe
San Andreas in 3D Universe
San Andreas in HD Universe
See: Los Santos
Los Santos in 3D Universe
Los Santos in HD Universe

North Yankton[]

LudendorffOverview

The town of Ludendorff, surrounded by mountains in the state of North Yankton.

North Yankton is a landlocked state featured in Grand Theft Auto V. Believed to be based on North Dakota, the state of North Yankton is located in the Midwestern United States. It is a large and relatively rural state and contains the town of Ludendorff (based on the city of Fargo), which has a population of 918 and is home to the Midwest's "Biggest Beaver". The area surrounding the town contains many farmyards and a cash depot owned by Bobcat Security. The state is often covered in snow and therefore has low average temperatures, especially in the winter.

Cayo Perico[]

CayoPerico-GTAO-Newswire

The island of Cayo Perico in the Caribbean Sea.

Cayo Perico is a private island in the Caribbean, off the coast of Colombia, that appears in Grand Theft Auto Online as the main setting of The Cayo Perico Heist update. It is considered one of the most secure private islands in the entire world, and the location of the remote island compound of the world’s most notorious drug dealer, Juan Strickler (also known as El Rubio).

Although the shape of the island is based on the island of Canouan in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the island appears to be based on Norman's Cay and Hacienda Nápoles, both locations owned by the former Medellín Cartel in real-life.

Anywhere City[]

Artwork-AnywhereCity-GTA2

Concept art of Anywhere City.

Anywhere City is the setting of Grand Theft Auto 2. The name "Anywhere City" derives from the fact that it is not named in the game and does not appear to bear a resemblance to any particular city. It is divided into three separate districts - Commercial, Residential and Industrial (similar to the nature of the three main districts in GTA III). The infrastructure of Anywhere City is primarily composed of roadways and footpaths, but a light rail transit system appears in the PC version of the game.

London and Manchester[]

London

London in real life

London, the capital of the United Kingdom, appears in both mission packs available for the original Grand Theft Auto - Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 and Grand Theft Auto: London 1961.

Manchester appears as a multiplayer map in the second pack. To date, these are the only real-life cities to be used physically in a GTA game, and the only featured cities from outside the United States. While only making a physical appearance in the two Mission Packs, it has been mentioned several times in both the 3D Universe and HD Universe games.

Carcer City[]

Carcer City

Carcer City

Carcer City is a location featured in Manhunt. The city is referenced in various GTA games, suggesting that it exists within the GTA World. It has been revealed that Carcer City exists in both the 3D and HD Universes of the series. All references to Carcer City mention that it is located close to Liberty City on the east coast of the United States.

According to the 'Miles Traveled' system on the statistical screen in GTA IV, the HD Universe version of Carcer City is around 50 – 100 miles away from Liberty City.

The HD Universe version of the city is also mentioned in the mission The Paleto Score in Grand Theft Auto V, Michael De Santa reveals that his first score was robbing a small franchise store on the outskirts of Carcer City in 1988.

Pedestrian dialogue from both GTA IV and GTA V references Carcer City.

Additional Mentioned Locations[]

Mentioned locations within countries yet to appear[]

2D Universe[]

3D Universe[]

HD Universe[]

Mentioned locations in countries already having appeared[]

2D Universe[]

3D Universe[]

  • United States of America
    • Alabama
    • Alaska is featured on a license plate inside The Greasy Chopper in GTA Vice City.
    • Arkansas is featured on a license plate inside The Greasy Chopper in GTA Vice City.
    • Florida
      • Miami is referenced in GTA III, as there are billboards saying "See you in Miami!", possibly foreshadowing GTA Vice City being based there and Ray Machowski mentions it after his departure from Liberty City. In GTA Vice City, there are billboards that say "Move over Miami!" referencing how Vice City has replaced Miami.
      • Reddick is the town from which the V-Rock radio station broadcasts in 1984.
    • Georgia is featured on a license plate inside The Greasy Chopper in GTA Vice City.
    • Hawaii is stated to be where Pastor Richards is embezzling funds for a mansion.
      • Maui, one of the Hawaiian islands, is featured on a license plate inside The Greasy Chopper in GTA Vice City.
    • Indiana is mentioned during a radio ad in GTA Vice City.
    • Kansas is mentioned by pedestrians in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. If the player starts a fight, some may say "This isn't Kansas, you know!".
    • Massachusetts is featured on a license plate inside The Greasy Chopper in GTA Vice City.
    • North Carolina is the birthplace of Tim.
    • Ohio is also the home state of Jane Pole, a member of the Epsilon Program.
    • Puerto Rico is referenced via a Puerto Rican flag in GTA Vice City.
    • Rhode Island is featured on a license plate inside The Greasy Chopper in GTA Vice City.
    • Wisconsin
      • Milwaukee is featured on a license plate inside The Greasy Chopper in GTA Vice City.

HD Universe[]

  1. Marvin Trill's desert bunker story has been adapted to the HD Universe, as mentioned on his Area 53 Site in Grand Theft Auto IV, and the county also appears on Venturas Poker Challenge.
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