GTA 6's massive map comes with major warning from developer

The GTA VI map might be so massive that it may end up putting off gamers, warns a developer.

When the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series arrives it will be a huge moment in the entertainment industry, and not just in the world of video games. In fact, GTA VI doesn’t even have a solid release date yet but it’s been the talk of the town for years.

It seems with just about every new release in the ever-popular Rockstar Games series, it keeps getting bigger and arguably better than ever.

In 2001, GTA III changed the open-world formula forever and has continued to set an industry standard since, and 2013’s GTA V was no exception.

To put it simply, the map of GTA V is huge and many fans will be hoping for even more with the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto VI. However, could the map of the next GTA be too big?

As reported by Dexerto (via PC Gamer), former developer at Rockstar Games, Cameron Williams claims that most “players don’t explore” open-world games and “hesitant” players may suffer from “exploration anxiety”.

On some level, open-world games give me a degree of anxiety but in a good way. Take Assassin’s Creed Valhalla for example, a game that I’ve put over 200 hours into and I’ve still not finished it (but I’m close).

That game is huge, probably too huge and when I see a map filled with activities and sights to see, I know I’m going to spend an ungodly amount of hours wandering about to see what’s over that big hill in the distance. I can see why that concept may feel overwhelming and put some off.

Williams, who currently works with Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser at Absurd Ventures added: “We want to avoid creating a possibility space so large that players simply just don’t know what to choose.”

Many games have too much bloat, not just Ubisoft titles but if there’s one developer that perhaps gets the content just right in its open-world adventures, it’s Rockstar Games.

GTA VI does not have a release date at the time of writing but it is scheduled to launch at the end of this year on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.