The main story is the headline, but in a Rockstar open world, the side content is the soul. GTA 5 gave us tennis, golf, yoga, triathlons, skydiving, hunting, street races, arm wrestling, darts, and more — and players spent thousands of collective hours doing absolutely none of the story missions. GTA 6 is arriving with a map 2.4 to 2.7 times larger, over 700 enterable interiors, and a Florida-inspired setting that naturally lends itself to a wider variety of activities than any GTA before it. Here's the full picture of what we know and what we're expecting.

What GTA 5 Set as the Template

GTA 5 was a landmark for open-world side content. Its activity list spanned:

This was already an extraordinary amount of content. Now scale everything up to a map more than twice the size, set it in coastal Florida analog with keys, swamps, beaches, national parks, and multiple distinct cities — and the potential is staggering.

What's Confirmed in GTA 6

Rockstar has been selective with specific activity details, but several things are already established:

700+ enterable interiors. This is the single most telling confirmed fact for side activities. Malls, shops, and nightclubs are specifically mentioned. Enterable interiors aren't decorative — they're gameplay spaces. Malls imply shopping and exploration. Nightclubs imply dancing, drinking, and socializing mechanics. Shops imply commerce. The sheer number (over 700) virtually guarantees that many of these spaces will host activities, mini-games, or random encounters.

The setting itself is a content engine. The State of Leonida spans Vice City (urban beaches, neon nightlife), the Leonida Keys (island chains, turquoise water), Grassrivers (swampland), Port Gellhorn (working port city), Ambrosia, and Mount Kalaga National Park (highland wilderness). Each region has its own geography that naturally suggests distinct activity types. You can't set a game on a Florida Keys analog and not include boating.

Two protagonists with different dynamics. Lucia and Jason's Bonnie-and-Clyde dynamic suggests character-specific activities and missions. GTA 5's three-protagonist system showed how different characters could have meaningfully different leisure activities.

For a broader look at the map and its regions, see our GTA 6 map guide.

Activities We're Expecting (Speculation)

Nothing below is officially confirmed — this is what the setting, the map, and Rockstar's track record strongly suggest. Treat it as a well-informed wishlist.

Water Sports and Coastal Activities

Florida is defined by water. The Leonida Keys alone — a chain of islands connected by bridges and causeways — is practically begging for jetski racing, deep-sea fishing, scuba diving, wakeboarding, and boat tours. Grassrivers' swamp terrain suggests airboat rides, alligator-infested waterways to navigate, and swamp boat races. GTA 5 had some water content, but GTA 6's setting demands far more.

For more on the Leonida Keys specifically, check our Leonida Keys deep dive.

Beach Activities

Vice City's Ocean Beach district sets the scene: volleyball, surfing (GTA has never had surfing — this seems like the moment), sunbathing, beachfront bars, sandcastle contests if Rockstar is feeling playful. The Florida beach culture is so iconic that not representing it in side activities would be a missed opportunity.

Hunting and Wildlife

Mount Kalaga National Park is confirmed on the map. RDR2 had one of the richest hunting systems in gaming history. Rockstar knows how to build wildlife systems — and a Florida national park filled with bears, panthers, alligators, and exotic birds is a perfect canvas for wildlife encounters and hunting challenges.

Nightlife Minigames

Confirmed nightclubs among the 700+ interiors strongly suggest dancing minigames, drinking challenges, and potentially gambling. GTA 5's bar-visit mechanic (drink until you black out) was a fun gag — expect GTA 6 to do something more elaborate.

Street Racing and Motorsport

200+ confirmed vehicles and an enormous multi-city map all but guarantees a robust racing scene. Street races across Vice City's neon boulevards, drag strips in Port Gellhorn, boat races in the Keys, and off-road challenges through Grassrivers would each feel like native content for their region.

Fitness and Sport

GTA 5 had yoga and tennis. Vice City's beach culture suggests beach volleyball, jogging paths, cycling routes, and possibly surfing. Jason and Lucia likely have their own fitness-related activities too — Rockstar tends to give each protagonist personal leisure habits that reflect their character.

What We'd Love to See (Fan Wishlist)

Beyond what the setting naturally suggests, here are activities that would make GTA 6's open world truly generational:

Why Side Content Matters More in GTA 6

GTA 6 is launching into a world where players have spent years in GTA Online's activity ecosystem. The bar for open-world side content is higher than it was in 2013. Players expect depth, variety, and replayability from every corner of the map. Rockstar has had 13 years of data on what GTA players do when they're not doing missions — and GTA 6's design almost certainly reflects all of it.

For a full overview of confirmed gameplay systems, see our gameplay features guide.

Bottom Line

GTA 6's Florida-inspired setting is a natural engine for the most diverse side-activity roster in the series' history — water sports, beach culture, wildlife, nightlife, and racing, spread across a map enormous enough to make each feel like its own world. Most of the specifics are still speculation, but the geography and the confirmed 700+ interiors tell a clear story: Rockstar has built a playground, and November 19, 2026 is when they hand us the keys.