Grand Theft Auto VI looks to be treating players to a breathtakingly huge open-world game map. The state of Leonida is rumoured to be between 45 and 60 square miles in size. Whilst this is an exciting prospect that fans are sure to enjoy, the actual single-player game may not be as large as that.

I’m close to finishing my “proper” playthrough of Red Dead Redemption 2. I reviewed the game way back, but as often happens, review deadlines mean that you can’t afford to take your time exploring every aspect of the game. With the clock ticking, it was main missions and selected side quests, and only a little bit of exploring.

In the years since, I’ve been casually playing Red Dead Redemption 2, living the life of an outlaw, taking in the game in my own time. I set out to finish this playthrough before the release of GTA VI, looking for details that hint at what to expect in Rockstar’s upcoming game.

Towards the end of Red Dead Redemption 2, during the epilogue, I decided to embark on a farewell tour of the game’s huge map. I revisited the picturesque town of Strawberry and took a trip back to Valentine. Whilst checking out the map to see where I could visit next, I noticed that there was a huge blank area to the southwest of the map.

So, I set off.

The town of Blackwater and its surroundings, which feature prominently in the first Red Dead Redemption game, are pretty much out of bounds during the entire story of RDR2, due to the Van Der Linde gang being wanted for robbery. Towards the end of the game, circumstances change, and you are no longer kill on sight in this area.

Red Dead Redemption 2, remember, is a prequel to the original Red Dead Redemption.

The Blackwater of Red Dead Redemption 2 is pretty much still under construction compared to how the finished town looks in its predecessor. I spent a lot of time defending the place from zombies in the Undead Nightmare DLC, back in the day.

Riding further west, I came across Thieves Landing, not the rickety southern-style settlement of Red Dead Redemption, but a landing actually full of thieves that shoot on sight. Then it was on to MacFarlane Ranch, where John Marston would be nursed back to health at the beginning of Red Dead Redemption.

My journey continued to Armadillo, where John Marston’s adventures began in Red Dead Redemption. The town was on fire, ravaged by plague; the sheriff told me to take what I wanted as he was abandoning the place.

Red Dead Redemption 2 gives players access to New Austin and West Elizabeth, all the way to Tumbleweed. These are huge areas from Red Dead Redemption that play no part in the RDR2 single-player story. The regions are pretty barren, offering only minimal interaction and a bit of nostalgia for fans of the first game.

It’s only when you start your journey in Red Dead Redemption Online that New Austin and West Elizabeth really come alive. The towns that seem like placeholders in the single-player game become important hubs for online adventures.

And, I think, that’s exactly what GTA VI’s massive map is designed for.

Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar’s parent company, has made a mint with Grand Theft Auto Online. So much so that they concentrated on providing more online content rather than giving players any single-player DLC. For well over a decade, GTA fans have been pouring money into Take-Two’s coffers whilst playing GTAO.

No doubt, they are planning on playing an even longer strategy with GTA VI’s online part when it inevitably launches next year. And the bigger the playground, the more content that can be crammed in.

So, whilst fans are going to be able to enjoy GTA VI’s Leonida right away without any areas locked behind progression, don’t expect missions to take full advantage of the entire map. It is likely that Rockstar has filled the map with emergent gameplay opportunities, but some areas are only likely to be properly fleshed out at a later date via online missions.

Regardless, such a massive map can only serve to bring the world to life as we join Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos on their adventures. And I, for one, can’t wait to explore the whole map, stealing cars and outrunning the law across the state of Leonida when Grand Theft Auto VI launches later this week.