10 video game cities GTA 6's map should take inspiration from

Rockstar is renowned for their video game cities, but for GTA 6's map, they should look to some other games for inspiration. While there's no doubt that Rockstar is quite skilled at creating lived-in and detailed worlds, there are several other popular titles that have managed to do a similar or better job, like Saints Row 2, Mafia 2, Sleeping Dogs, and so on.

This might allow for a different perspective when building the new Vice City in Grand Theft Auto 6. It should be noted that the game is probably almost completed by this point, so it's not like Rockstar is still taking inspiration right now. They may have already taken notes from different open-world games.

Nonetheless, this article lists ten different video game cities that GTA 6's map should draw inspiration from.

Note: The article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinion.

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Video game cities that should inspire GTA 6's map

1) Stilwater (Saints Row 2)

Stilwater, from the original Saints Row and its sequel, is probably one of the most lively and original video game cities ever made in an open-world title. While it's mostly based on Detroit, it also takes inspiration from Chicago.

The city has multiple districts and every one of them feels like a completely different area. GTA 6's map should strive to capture this aspect of Stilwater so that each region feels distinct and unique.

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2) Hong Kong (Sleeping Dogs)

One of the most detailed video game cities to date (Image via Square Enix)

Hong Kong is an iconic real-life city, but to see it recreated in Sleeping Dogs was truly a sight to behold back in 2012. The Hong Kong map in the game is one of the most highly detailed and lifelike video game cities ever made, especially when it comes to GTA competitors.

There are distinct regions, like in Stilwater, which make exploration worthwhile. The game makes use of countless narrow alleyways in its missions and even rooftops for parkouring, all of which gives it a lived-in feel. GTA 6's map should feature such details, particularly in Vice City.

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3) Night City (Cyberpunk 2077)

Daytime in Night City looks as impressive as nighttime (Image via CD Projekt RED)

As a city from a cyberpunk fantasy universe, Night City might feel out of place here, but the way the city is designed is something that GTA 6's map should be inspired by. First of all, Night City also has different districts, each with a distinct feel to them, but there's so much to explore here.

The level design is excellent, with the right use of props and architecture, and there's a lot of verticality that games with large maps often don't have. All this makes Night City feel well-lived, despite basically being set in a fantasy world.

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4) Gotham City (Batman: Arkham Knight)

One of the most dark and depressing video game cities (Image via WB Games)

Gotham City in the Batman: Arkham series is the perfect example of a small video game city hiding tons of interesting details and places to explore. This is because the map has several large interiors, which are explored throughout the story.

Arkham Knight featured the largest map in the series, and there were places to explore both outside in the open as well as inside buildings. The dark, gothic architecture won't fit well with GTA 6's map, but the inclusion of detailed interiors is something to consider.

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5) Regno (Just Cause 3)

Regno, the capital of Medici in Just Cause 3's huge map, is a beautiful Mediterranean-themed city that feels like the perfect holiday retreat. However, while Vice City can definitely take inspiration from Regno and its stunning coastline, there's something much more important that GTA 6's map should feature.

We're talking about destructible environments, of which there's no shortage in Just Cause 3. Grand Theft Auto 6 should feature some destructible structures, like generators, certain towers, oil tanks, and so on.

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6) Lost Heaven (Mafia)

Lost Heaven has tons of places to explore (Image via 2K)

The city of Lost Heaven in the first Mafia game is based on major American cities like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. What makes it one of the best video game cities is its authenticity, level of detail, and its originality.

The city outskirts are also explorable, which was featured more in the Definitive Edition remake. Although GTA 3 was quite ahead of its time, Mafia started development a bit earlier, which is why Lost Heaven feels more detailed than Liberty City.

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7) Empire Bay (Mafia II)

Empire Bay has distinct seasons and time periods (Image via 2K)

Much like Lost Heaven, Empire Bay is also heavily influenced by New York and Chicago, but it feels completely distinct. The outskirts region is replaced with more detailed locations, along with several explorable interiors. Empire Bay also goes through several time periods and seasons, which is an impressive feature that GTA 6's map could make use of.

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8) Kamurocho (Yakuza series)

Kamurocho is painstakingly detailed (Image via SEGA)

Unlike most other video game cities, Kamurocho from the Yakuza series is a small district in Tokyo. It's based on Kabukicho, Tokyo's red-light district, and we see it go through several changes throughout the games. The game world is highly detailed in the Yakuza titles, with several individual shops and buildings, and we even get to explore the district in the 80s with Yakuza 0.

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9) New York City (Spider-Man series)

New York is probably one of the most popular video game cities, being replicated so many times in multiple titles. However, Insomniac's Spider-Man probably does the best job of making it feel like a living, breathing city. The map is massive, as expected, and there are countless landmarks to explore. Just like Gotham City in Arkham Knight, there's no shortage of interior locations either.

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10) Steelport (Saints Row - The Third Remastered)

GTA 6's map should have some industrial regions like Steelport (Image via Deep Silver)

Steelport is probably the last city Rockstar would want to replicate in GTA 6's map, but there are some good points to take here. First of all, the industrial aspect of the city could be used in a few specific regions in the next Grand Theft Auto game. In addition, Steelport's Downtown area has some impressive lighting in the remastered version of SRTT, with the spotlights looking stunning at nighttime.

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