I’m going to be covering all of the GTA VI real-life Florida locations and references. So, firstly, the location of this game is obviously based on the state of Florida, as it does expand beyond Miami Vice City in this case. And Rockstar is calling the name of the entire map or state Leonida, which is interesting.
Of course, GTA VI will be released sometime in 2025, most likely at the end of 2025, so we’re roughly about two years away. For those of you who don’t know, it will be only available for current-gen consoles, which have PS5 and Xbox Series X/S at launch.
So, sadly, there is no mention of PC at this time. For those of you who remember when GTA V was released in 2013, the PC version wasn’t released until 2015, which was about two years later.
So, I would assume Rockstar’s probably going to do the same thing for GTA VI and will most likely not see it available on PC until 2026 or 2027.
GTA VI Real-Life Locations
Starting off with the first scene from the trailer, to my knowledge, no one has been able to figure out where this one is. But based on this water treatment plant here, it does seem to be referencing the South District water treatment plant in Miami. Or it could just be random since the map is obviously going to be condensed compared to the real state of Florida.
Then we have a prison in the background here. I’ve literally Googled every prison in Florida, and none of them have these towers like this. However, based on the city position in the background, this appears to be further South, so it’s possible the prison could be a reference to the Homestead Correctional Institution from real life but with a different design.
South Beach, Miami
Continuing to our next location, we have a shot of the beach, and it’s actually this location right here in South Beach based on the buildings. You can see that the four buildings behind the beach in the background are basically identical. It’s pretty wild how close rocks have gone with this.
As it zooms in, we get a little closer, and you can see a lot of buildings in the background that look close as well. Even the Intracoastal Waterway in the center is very similar, and it is just crazy how detailed this map is.
Also, at the top, we have a dodo seaplane pulling a banner that says 919, and that’s actually a reference to a real club in Miami called E11EVEN you can see it has a very similar font, and the one in the center and all that.
Miami Beach
Moving along, we have another shot of the beach, again based on Miami Beach. Judging by the skin-colored building in the back, that would be this part of Miami Beach close to the Furst St. Lifeguard Tower in Real life. You can see this skin-colored building is almost identical to the real one. The realism of the city is just absolutely insane.
In the next scene, this location is actually close to the beach. As you can see by this building, it’s the same one from the first beach scene that we saw earlier. And then, of course, we have this building on the left, which is based on a building called W South Beach, and it has the same design out front.
Brickell Area Of Miami
Our next location is based in the Brickell area of Miami. The building on the left is almost identical to this, and the one with the hole in the middle is a reference to the building right next to it, which is called 500 Brickell. Again, it’s just insane how detailed Rockstar has gone with these buildings.
Florida Everglades
Continuing, we get a shot of the swamp area on the game with an airboat. This, of course, is based on the Florida Everglades. Airboats are extremely popular in the Everglades, and it’s basically the only way you can travel through that swampy area without getting stuck. And, of course, in the next shot, we have flamingos, alligators, and stuff. Again, this is another reference to the animals in the Everglades.
Port Of Miami
Next up, we have the speedboat scene here with the shipping cargo ship on the right. This location is obviously based on the port of Miami with the cranes and stuff, and this seems to be on the side of Fisherman’s Channel, to be exact.
Cassia
Moving along, we have another city shot, and this building on the left, with the crazy lighting, is based on the Cassia Center, home of the Miami Heat Basketball team, which is very cool. Then, the building on the right here with the hole in the middle is actually a reference to the Atlantis Brickell condominium building. Now, this one’s not exact, so Rockstar obviously did their own take on it, but it’s still a reference nonetheless.
Winwood, Miami
Continuing to this area with the graffiti everywhere, this is actually based on a neighborhood in Miami called Winwood, which is known for auto graffiti on most of the buildings in that area. It’s very cool how they incorporated that in here as well.
Then, if we zoom in here, the building on the right side of the Granger seems to be based on a bakery in Winwood, which has a similar colorful exterior and a similar sign placement as well.
Club E11EVEN
Next up, we got our first look at one of the clubs in Vice City, and this one seems to be based on that club E11EVEN that I mentioned earlier, the one that they advertised as Club 9. You could see it has the same sort of VIP bottle service thing, as well as the second-floor area on the top. This definitely seems to be based on that nightclub.
Venetian
Next up, we have this scene right here with the island, and this one is actually based on the Venetian islands of Miami. You can see it has the same toll road entrance, the same tennis court, and a small building on either side of the toll booth, and even the one with the strange step-up design on the right.
And then the islands of mansions there in the middle. I mean, it is just wild the attention to detail Rockstar has put into this map. It’s really, really crazy.
Ocean Drive Road, Miami
Moving along, we have probably one of the most iconic scenes from the trailer: this is the road closest to Miami Beach, which is called Ocean Drive. In real life, it has various hotels, restaurants, and clubs along the strip. And the first hotel right here on the left, called Boardwalk, is actually a reference to a hotel in real life called Break Water. You can see the building, and the font lighting is basically the same.
Then, the hotel distance that has the Hotel Dixon sign is actually a reference to Hotel Victor from real life. You can see the font and the sign are extremely similar, and even the building itself. Ocean Drive is super iconic, and I’m glad rocks are replicated, most of them here. It looks absolutely incredible.
Next up, we have this nightclub here, and I’ve seen a lot of people in the community that say it looks like a club in Miami called Club Space, and I can sort of see why. You can see it has the curtains, decorations, etc, that are very similarly positioned around the DJ booth so that it could be referenced to that one.
Florida Keys
Continuing, we get a shot of these islands with a broken bridge, and this, of course, is actually based on the Florida Keys, particularly the area where the broken Seven Mile Bridge is. It’s almost identical, and it’s amazing that Rockstar was able to incorporate that in here.
The funny thing is that Rockstar is actually giving this area basically the same name as the real-life “The Keys,” as we saw with one of these street signs in the trailer.
Also, if you look at the top of the screen here, there is a blimp sitting there, and that’s actually based on a blimp in real life called the Fat Albert blimp in the Florida Keys, which is used by customs to monitor boats and air traffic for any possible drug smuggling.
VICE Sign
Continuing to this VICE sign, this is supposed to reference the Miami sign you see in movies and stuff. However, that sign is actually not a real thing in Miami; it’s just a prop that’s been constructed for various movies and stuff. It’s so pretty funny how Rockstar found a fun way to incorporate that here as well.
The Social Media Clips In the GTA VI Trailer
Now, next up on something social media clip section of a trailer and this scene, we see a guy on his yacht having a good time with all the girls and stuff. Now, this could be random, but some people in the community had said that this could be a reference to Jeff Bezos on his yacht. And I can kind of see it, as he even has the same blue shorts in this picture, which I find pretty funny.
The Alligator
Continuing to this scene, with the Gator being pulled out of the pool, this is actually something that happens in Florida quite often. Typically, the cops have to show up and remove the Gator from the person’s pool. It’s not fun, but it does show up on the news all the time.
Then we have an alligator making its way into a store, and this is something that also happened in Florida, where an alligator went into a Walmart, some pretty wild stuff.
The Naked Man
Continuing, we have a man running naked from the cops in front of a gas station, and this is also something that happened in Florida as well. It’s pretty funny.
Then we have the naked man watering his lawn, and this is a reference to a man in Florida who does yard work naked. Yes, I know, Florida is full of many interesting individuals, to say the least.
Crazy Motor
Next up, we have a mud bogging area called the Thrill Belly Mud Club, as you can see by the logo on the bottom right. And this is actually a reference to a real mud park in Florida called the Redneck Yacht Club. You can see it has a very similar logo as well.
Moving along, we have a reference to the Wheels Up and Guns Down event, where hundreds of riders in Miami illegally perform wheelies on dirt bikes, ATVs, etc, which are not street legal.
Then they run from the cops and stuff, and that’s shown in the next scene here as well. It’s absolutely crazy, and it happens every year. It’s always on the news. The cops really can’t do much about it, and it’s pretty insane.
Other Real Life References
Next up, I can’t really tell where this scene is in real life. However, if we look at the signs up top here, we do see a reference to Sun Pass in Florida, which is the toll-by-plate system that they use, so very, very cool there.
Moving along, we have the lady holding the two hammers here in her hand, which is actually a reference to a crazy lady who smashed her neighbor’s car with hammers over a dispute. Now, this situation happened in Los Angeles, but it’s still a funny reference nonetheless.
Next up, we have this crash scene, which is a reference to a crash that happened in Broward County, Florida, where a police chase ended in a rollover. It even has the same Florida State Trooper-style liveries on the cop cars around it, which is really cool.
Continuing, we have this man with a bunch of face tattoos and stuff. This is actually a reference to a guy in Miami who goes by the name of Miami Joker. It’s pretty funny how Rockstar made that reference here, as well.
Next up, the girl twerking on the roof of the moving car is actually another crazy Florida reference, and it did, in fact, happen in real life.
The next one is a straight takeover reference, which happens in many states in the US, not just Florida, but still a funny reference from the Rockstar.
That’s pretty much it. Those are all the real-life locations, building references, and even references from the first GTA VI trailer that many others in the community and I were able to identify. Let me know down below if you caught any locations that I missed.
